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Aims & Scope

The objective of Animal Sentience is to contribute to the scientific, scholarly, and practical understanding of (1) what and how nonhuman species can feel and think and (2) how to protect and preserve them. Sensations and perceptions, including pain and pleasure and a wide variety of emotions, are central to a feeling organism's wellbeing. The scope of Animal Sentience is broad. Submissions are invited from disciplines spanning the physical, biological and social sciences, the humanities, and beyond, including technology, the arts, law, media, and public policy. The perspective can be physiological, psychological, behavioural, cognitive, ethological, ecological, veterinary, philosophical, ethical, legal, political, or practical.

Scholarly inquiry does not grow or flourish in isolation from its practical implications. Creating bridges between science and advocacy is one of academia's increasingly pressing priorities, especially where feelings and welfare -- whether human or nonhuman -- are concerned. Our understanding of the feelings of other creatures on the planet we share informs, deepens, and strengthens our evolving relationship with them. For this reason, papers published in Animal Sentience also encourage discussion of how the findings can be applied to advancing policy and practice. Open Peer Commentary is invited on all target articles from qualified specialists in any of the fields on which the content impinges.