This course will give the student an advanced understanding on animal consciousness, the biology of pain and suffering, welfare and cognitive functions and the physiology of stress.

12 hours of lectures and two hours of tutorials

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Students will prepare an essay (2000 words; 100% of the course grade) where they will critically discuss current scientifc evidence for different types of animal suffering.

The aim of the course is to provide students with an advanced understanding of issues on consciousness, sentience and suffering in animals and how this relates to ethical and legal considerations.

By the end of this course students, with reference to the evidence base, will be able to: 

■ Discuss critically the challenges faced by welfare research that aims to assess animal subjective states, and the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches

■ Discuss critically the physiological basis of the stress response, the latest methodological developments on how to measure stress, and how these can inform welfare research

■ Demonstrate detailed knowledge and critical understanding of the physiological basis of pain, discuss its evolution in the animal kingdom, and be informed by the developments at the forefront of pain research

■ Apply knowledge and synthetic understanding of pain and stress to critically reflect on ethical issues and legislation

■ Discuss critically the principles and concepts of disturbance and a critical awareness of its impacts on captive and wild animals

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.