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Now, when scientists discovered that mammals, birds and many other animal species have consciousness, it is the time for the society to take action in this direction.

Do animals have consciousness? This question has a long and respectful history. It was submitted by Charles Darwin when he was thinking about the evolution of consciousness. His ideas about continuity of evolution- that the differences between species are actually differences in level of development and not in kind - lead to the firm conclusion that if we have "something", then "they" (other animals) also have it.

The Problems in Investigation Process

Of course, something like that could be only supposed, but not yet conclusively proven. Consciousness in animals is a very tricky thing to prove since it is certainly not on the high enough level to be expressed clearly and to be available for observation. One of the problems lies in the fact that certainly not all animals have consciousness, and that raise the question at what level of development should a living organism be considered as consciousness being.

Last year, a group of scientists gathered at the first Annual Francis Crick Memorial Conference at the University of Cambridge, in detail discussed the issue. Crick, one of the discoverers of DNA, spent the second half of his career studying consciousness, and in 1994 he published a book about it, "Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul".

The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness

The outcome of the meeting was The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, which was publicly declared by three recognized neuroscientists, David Edelman from the Institute of Neuroscience in La Jolla, Philip Low, Stanford University and Christof Koch Institute of Technology in California.

Declaration of consciousness concludes that: "The non-human animals have neuroanatomical, neurochemical and neurophysiological basis of conscious state, combined with the ability to show intentional activity. Thus, the evidence shows that humans are not unique in terms of having neurological substrate that is the cause of consciousness. Non-human animals, including octopuses, also possess the neural substrate. "
The first reaction on the Declaration was disbelief. Did we really need an official confirmation of obvious? Many mainstream scientists came to this conclusion long ago.

However, the Declaration contains some glitches. The Declaration was signed by the scientists involved in laboratory studies (all but one), but the declaration would have more credibility if they took into account the perspectives of researchers who have conducted long-term research and observation of wild animals, nonhuman primates, carnivores, whales, rodents and birds . It is also disappointing that the Declaration did not include fish, because the evidence supporting the existence of consciousness in this group of vertebrates is very convincing.
However, we welcome the publication of this Declaration which is intended not only for scientists, because as the author before publishing Low said: "We agreed that it is perhaps now time to make public declaration. Although perhaps everyone in this room is clearly aware that animals have consciousness, the rest of the world may not be clear. "
There are a few important questions: Will this declaration change something? What will scientists and others do now when they agreed that awareness is widespread in the animal kingdom?

Application of The Agreement

I hope that the Declaration will be used to protect animals from violent and inhumane acts. Too often, the scientific knowledge about animal cognition, emotion, and consciousness is not recognized in law for the welfare of animals. We know, for example, mice, rats and chickens show empathy, but this knowledge has not been implemented in the U.S. Federal Animal Welfare Act. Approximately 25 million of the animals, and fish, are included in an aggressive research each year. Scientific community is continually amazed by how those who decide on the rules on the use of animal neglect that data.

But on the other hand, all the legislation does not ignore science. Lisbon Act of the European Union, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, recognizes that animals are sentient beings and calls on member states to "take into consideration the welfare of animals very seriously,” during the agricultural policy, fisheries, transport and space policy, and the politics of research and development.

Also, there are still scientific skeptics about animal consciousness. In his book, Crick wrote: "idealizing animals is sign of sentimentality," and continued that for many of the animals living in captivity is better, longer and less cruel than life in the wild.

Similar views are still prevalent in some scientists. In his latest book, "Why are animals important: Awareness of animals, animal welfare and the welfare of man”, Marian Stamp Dawkins, from Oxford University argues that there is still really not known whether the other animals have consciousness and will remain skeptical and agnostic, belligerently agnostic if necessary. Dawkins ignores the data that scientists have used to form the Declaration and goes so far as to argue that it is actually harmful to animals if we base decisions about their well-being on the basis of their awareness.

Those who want to harm the animals can easily take Dawkins' opinion in order to justify their actions.

The Cambridge Declaration of awareness is here, and now we have to work on how to provide animal protection they deserve. Let's hope that the Declaration is not just a gesture to show, but it's something that has teeth, something that leads to action. We owe it to the animals to use our knowledge and to show some mercy and compassion in our treatment of them.