The 2022 English Law on Vertebrates as Sentient Beings: A Legal Revolution or a Symbolic Act? Introduction: Historical Context and the Essence of the Law The Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022, which came into effect in April 2022, represents a key event in the evolution of the legal status of animals in the UK and, more broadly, in global jurisprudence. Its essence lies in the formal recognition of all vertebrates (as well as, at the discretion of the Minister, certain cephalopod mollusks such as octopuses and squids) as sentient beings. The law does not grant animals subjective rights (to life, freedom), but introduces the principle of taking their welfare into account in the process of making state decisions. This is a direct consequence of the UK's exit from the EU, where similar provisions were contained in the Lisbon Treaty (2009), and the desire to enshrine this principle in national, more specific legislation. Scientific Basis: What Does "Sentience" Mean in the Law? The law relies on modern scientific consensus in the fields of neurobiology, cognitive ethology, and philosophy of consciousness. Sentience is defined as the ability to experience subjective states: feelings, emotions, pain, suffering, pleasure. Criteria confirming sentience in vertebrates: Presence of a complex nervous system with a developed brain, including structures homologous to human centers of emotion (limbic system). Behavioral responses to pain and threat that go beyond simple reflexes (avoidance, learning from negative experiences). Presence of neurophysiological correlates (cortisol release under stress, endorphins under pleasure). Demonstration of complex cognitive functions: empathy, self-awareness (in some species), ability to solve problems. The law conservatively limits itself to vertebrates but provides for the possibility of including cephalopod mollusks whose complex nervous system and behavior also indicate sentience (e.g., octopuses are capable of instrumental activity and ... Read more