Finally there is a text book out on the topic of animal mental health and well-being. Sorry to be so late in reporting this to you but the English published book combines commentary from leading experts on animal emotion research, animal behavior, cognitive science, neuroscience and veterinary medicine.
Hopefully this means that many of the past concepts of anthropomorphism will be dismissed. The topic of animal emotion has always amused me since most commentary fails to mention that humans are animals.
What I found amusing, in the report sent my way, was that a neuroscientist was quoted as “discovering” laughter in rats. I bet rats have known it all along and I remember my rats playing games and laughing during the frolicking. Any animal professional who doesn’t recognize the emotional influences telegraphed by the animals in their charge are not in tune with nature.
However, I am happy to see the scientific community moving forward and proving many of the things most animal-connected individuals take for granted!
