On Fri, 9 Nov 2007 15:08:13 -0000, "Brass Extrusion" > wrote:

>http://www.newscientist.com/channel/...ine-news_rss20
>or
>http://preview.tinyurl.com/38ou7h
>
>09 November 2007
>Colin Barras
>Magazine issue 2629
>It could prick the conscience of seafood chefs everywhere. Prawns, lobsters
>and other invertebrates may feel pain, a controversial finding that could
>open up the debate on animal welfare.
>
>Robert Elwood at Queen's University Belfast in the UK and his colleagues
>claim they have found convincing evidence that prawns do feel pain.

Duh.

>When
>they dabbed an irritant - acetic acid - onto one of 144 prawns' two
>antennae, the creatures reacted by grooming and rubbing the affected antenna
>for up to 5 minutes. This focused reaction is similar to that seen in
>mammals exposed to a noxious stimulant (Animal Behaviour, DOI:
>10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.07.004).

What a clue. Another one is that crabs jump out of pots of
boiling water if they can. It's really pretty damned obvious.

>Elwood says the results show a centrally organised response to the irritant.
>"The prolonged, specifically directed rubbing and grooming is consistent
>with an interpretation of pain experience," he says.

If this is a breakthrough, then it's truly a wonder that researchers
have ever managed to learn a damn thing.

>Most researchers believe that only vertebrates feel pain,

How incredibly stupid.

>but Elwood argues that this is unlikely because of ...

Whatever about Elmo... They can see, and they can hear,
and they can smell, and they can taste. Only incredibly stupid
people would "think" they can experience all of the senses
EXCEPT FOR what is probably the most important one. For
everyone who is just now getting a clue, here's a great big
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
for you!

Now about that domestic animal elimination/veganism thing:

· Vegans contribute to the deaths of animals by their use of
wood and paper products, electricity, roads and all types of
buildings, their own diet, etc... just as everyone else does.
What they try to avoid are products which provide life
(and death) for farm animals, but even then they would have
to avoid the following items containing animal by-products
in order to be successful:

Tires, Paper, Upholstery, Floor waxes, Glass, Water
Filters, Rubber, Fertilizer, Antifreeze, Ceramics, Insecticides,
Insulation, Linoleum, Plastic, Textiles, Blood factors, Collagen,
Heparin, Insulin, Solvents, Biodegradable Detergents, Herbicides,
Gelatin Capsules, Adhesive Tape, Laminated Wood Products,
Plywood, Paneling, Wallpaper and Wallpaper Paste, Cellophane
Wrap and Tape, Abrasives, Steel Ball Bearings

The meat industry provides life for the animals that it
slaughters, and the animals live and die as a result of it
as animals do in other habitats. They also depend on it for
their lives as animals do in other habitats. If people consume
animal products from animals they think are raised in decent
ways, they will be promoting life for more such animals in the
future. People who want to contribute to decent lives for
livestock with their lifestyle must do it by being conscientious
consumers of animal products, because they can not do it by
being vegan.
From the life and death of a thousand pound grass raised
steer and whatever he happens to kill during his life, people
get over 500 pounds of human consumable meat...that's well
over 500 servings of meat. From a grass raised dairy cow people
get thousands of dairy servings. Due to the influence of farm
machinery, and *icides, and in the case of rice the flooding and
draining of fields, one serving of soy or rice based product is
likely to involve more animal deaths than hundreds of servings
derived from grass raised animals. Grass raised animal products
contribute to fewer wildlife deaths, better wildlife habitat, and
better lives for livestock than soy or rice products. ·