Sentience and Animal Protection | 507 In some instances, this advocacy is part of a collective action within the particular field of scholarship Psychologists, ethologists, and veterinarians have established advocacy organizations to advance the interests of animals used as objects of study within their respective fields In addition, scholars have developed a multi-disciplinary field devoted to the study of human-animal relationships In fact, scholars within this burgeoning field of Human-Animal Studies (also known as Animal Studies and Anthrozoology) debate the issue of the relation between scholarship and advocacy Many HAS scholars are after-hours advocates, having self-selected the field to integrate their professional and personal lives Their research and teaching varies from unabashed advocacy to the declaration of bias, as discussed earlier, to overcorrection to avoid even the appearance of bias It appears that the overcorrection approach, motivated by the need for this new field to gain credibility, is giving way in the second generation of HAS scholars to the declaration of bias approach Further Reading Davis, H and Balfour, Dianne, eds 1992 The inevitable bond: Examining scientistanimal interactions New York: Cambridge University Latour, Bruno, and Woolgar, Steve 1979 Laboratory life: The construction of scientific facts Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Shapiro, Kenneth 2008 Human-animal-studies: Growing the field, applying the field Ann Arbor: Animals and Society Institute Kenneth J Shapiro SENTIENCE AND ANIMAL PROTECTION Why is it important for humans to understand the nature of sentience in the ani- mals under our protection? Put simply, a sentient animal has feelings that matter Sensation is interpreted as emotion; the strength of emotion determines the strength of the motivation to seek satisfaction and avoid suffering Moreover, the emotional reactions of a sentient animal are governed by experience If it learns that it can cope with the challenges of life, then it can achieve a state of wellbeing If it learns that it cannot cope, then it will suffer The human duty of care to sentient animals is, at the least, to protect them from suffering Ideally our aim should be to give them a life worth living Animal Protection: Our Responsibility Sentient animals deserve more than our protection; they deserve our respect This moral principle derives from the recognition that the animals humans use for their own purposes on the farm, in the laboratory, or in the home are able to experience emotions ranging from comfort and pleasure to pain and suffering Our aim should be to keep them fit and happy: to create within reasonable limits a physical and social environment wherein they can achieve a sense of wellbeing, defined in terms of both their physical and emotional state This applies whatever our intentions for the animal may be: to love it, eat it, to use it in scientific procedures to find a cure for cancer, or to establish the safety of a detergent Within the European Union, farm animals have, since the signing of the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, been reclassified not as commodities but as sentient creatures, and this has generated new legislation that takes their sentience and capacity to suffer into consideration In the UK, the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act of 1986 creates an obligation to