Angie M Elwin
University of Reading, Geography and Environmental Science, Department Member
- PhD researcher focusing on mangroves and shrimp farming social-ecological resilienceedit
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Abstract Globally, there is increasing pressure to find solutions for feeding the growing human population. One of the proposed answers to this problem is to farm edible insects, both for human consumption and as feed for domesticated... more
Abstract Globally, there is increasing pressure to find solutions for feeding the growing human population. One of the proposed answers to this problem is to farm edible insects, both for human consumption and as feed for domesticated livestock. But what do we know about these miniature livestock? Are they capable of suffering, and if so, what does this mean for this new and growing industry? Here, we review a fraction of what is currently known about insect sentience and cognition, by focusing on a portion of the published scientific literature over the past 31 years (1990–2020). Specifically, our review aimed to (1) assess the extent to which insect sentience and cognition featured in a selection of the scientific literature published between 1990 and 2020, (2) assess which aspects have been studied, and in which insect taxa, and (3) identify the insect species currently being promoted in policy for farming, and the reasons why edible insects are now on the global policy agenda. We found evidence that many species of insects, across a broad range of taxonomic Orders, are assumed and/or confirmed to be capable of a range of cognitive abilities, and that there is reason to believe that some species may also feel important emotional states such as stress. The market for insects as feed and food is set to become a booming industry in the future, yet our review highlights how we still know very little about the minds of insects and their capacity to suffer in farming systems. We hope that our findings will stimulate additional research and subsequent policy development relating to how insects are farmed in the future, particularly in the context of mitigating any potential negative animal welfare impacts.
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Research Interests: Business, Earth Sciences, Sustainable Development, Rural Development, Mangroves, and 11 moreThailand, SHRIMP, Aquaculture, Shrimp Culture, Environmental Sciences, Production economics, Shrimp Aquaculture, Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management, Farmer Behaviour, Sustainability, and Farming Intensity
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The global trade in wildlife affects ~24% of terrestrial vertebrates, and demand for traditional medicinal materials, especially for traditional Chinese medicine, is a high profile driver. At present the relative extent to which demand... more
The global trade in wildlife affects ~24% of terrestrial vertebrates, and demand for traditional medicinal materials, especially for traditional Chinese medicine, is a high profile driver. At present the relative extent to which demand for wild-animal-origin medicinal materials arises from different markets (OTCM, zhongyi and CMP, see companion paper) within "TCM" is unknown. We wished to populate the above categories, revealing the numbers and types of species involved, to provide the first consolidated description of the diversity of animal species potentially able to be used for different facets of "TCM”, an overview of their conservation status, and an initial estimate of the degree to which existing trade feeds into these different facets of "TCM”. We found that the number and diversity of wild-animal-origin medicinal materials listed as available for use in "TCM" differ markedly between the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China (representing OTCM) - which currently lists 70 wild species - and the Medical Fauna of China, representing zhongyi - which lists 2275 animal species. Our findings indicated a substantial trade - both imports to, and exports from China - of "TCM" medicinal materials from wild animal taxa listed in the Medical Fauna of China but not listed in the Pharmacopoeia, and also of species for which there is no prior textual support, including species potentially being traded as substitutes for listed species. We recommend working with TCM practitioners to enact the targeted substitution of sustainably sourced plant-based medicinal materials for the currently-used animal-origin materials. We suggest that this should initially target the 70 OTCM species, as well as inferred OTCM species and selected genera likely to be imported as substitutes, to strike a balance between keeping the focus of the required research narrow, while targeting the taxa most likely to be traded
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Wildlife exploitation is considered a predominant factor driving global biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease transmission, in addition to a range of concerns for animal welfare and ecosystem health. One of the ways in which wild animals... more
Wildlife exploitation is considered a predominant factor driving global biodiversity loss and zoonotic disease transmission, in addition to a range of concerns for animal welfare and ecosystem health. One of the ways in which wild animals are exploited is for commercial trade as exotic pets, fashion products, luxury foods, traditional medicine, entertainment, ornaments and more. While the trade in some wildlife species is restricted or prohibited under various domestic and international laws, many species are not bound by legal protection and are traded in largely unmonitored numbers with the potential for severe consequences. Companies, particularly large e-commerce platforms, are increasingly adopting policies to restrict the legal trade in wild animals. Due to the absence of clear guidelines for corporate services of wildlife trade, these policies commonly adopt pre-determined species lists, such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threa...
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Fish are traded, caught, farmed, and killed in their trillions every year around the world, yet their welfare is often neglected and their sentience regularly disregarded. In this review, we have sought to (1) catalogue the extent to... more
Fish are traded, caught, farmed, and killed in their trillions every year around the world, yet their welfare is often neglected and their sentience regularly disregarded. In this review, we have sought to (1) catalogue the extent to which fish sentience has featured over the past 31 years in the scientific literature and (2) discuss the importance of fish sentience in relation to their commercial uses. We searched the journal database Science Direct using 42 keywords that describe traits or elements of sentience to find articles that were referring to or exploring fish sentience. Our review returned 470 results for fish sentience in 142 different species and subspecies of fish, and featured 19 different sentience keywords. The top four keywords were; ‘stress’ (psychological) (n = 216, 45.9% of total results), ‘anxiety’ (n = 144, 30.6%), ‘fear’ (n = 46, 9.7%), and ‘pain’ (n = 27, 5.7%). Our findings highlight an abundance of evidence for fish sentience in the published scientific li...
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This study examines shrimp farmer behaviour in relation to production intensity along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand, and its embeddedness in the wider socio-economic context of shrimp farming households. The integrative... more
This study examines shrimp farmer behaviour in relation to production intensity along the eastern coast of the Gulf of Thailand, and its embeddedness in the wider socio-economic context of shrimp farming households. The integrative agent-centred (IAC) framework was used as a basis for designing a structured survey to collect semi-quantitative data for a range of explanatory variables that potentially drive shrimp farmer behaviour. The results show that shrimp farming intensity is associated with a combination of technical (e.g. farm area, pond size, stocking density and production), economic (shrimp selling price, production costs and farm revenue), social (e.g. farm operating years, the use of family labour, engagement in shrimp farming and with other shrimp farmers), and ecological factors (e.g. farmer reliance on natural pond productivity, and constraints brought about by environmental change and fluctuations in productive areas). In addition, the results indicate that a number of external and internal socio-economic factors are related to the decision to adopt a certain level of production intensity, including training received on farming practices, access to technical equipment, proportion of total income from shrimp farming, season-specific changes in production, risk perception, and subjective culture (social norms and roles). This study therefore illustrates that levels of shrimp farming intensity are in fact an indicator of a diversity of socio-economic conditions and behavioural choices, which need to be targeted by sustainability policies differentially and beyond the technical sphere. In showing this, we conclude that national standards aimed at achieving aquaculture sustainability should be designed to reflect the diversity needed to support such a diverse sector, and should be adjustable to better represent different socio-economic contexts.
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The Covid-19 outbreak has brought about fresh and intensified scrutiny of the wildlife trade, which substantively involves commerce in exotic pets. In response, major policy decisions involving trade bans have ensued, with calls for... more
The Covid-19 outbreak has brought about fresh and intensified scrutiny of the wildlife trade, which substantively involves commerce in exotic pets. In response, major policy decisions involving trade bans have ensued, with calls for similar such action to be applied across the trade chain. Yet, these measures have been criticised, largely based on concerns that they risk exacerbating poverty, undermining human rights, damaging conservation incentives, and otherwise harming sustainable development and conservation efforts. Instead, many critics propose improved regulation of the status quo, with the intention of nurturing a legal, sustainable, safe, humane, and equitable wildlife trade. Herein, we provide a countering view that outlines how the risks presented by the wildlife trade are becoming increasingly recognised as being both manifold and severe; and raise concerns that the goal of a well-regulated wildlife trade is becoming increasingly exposed as a mirage. We conclude that wh...
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Mangrove forests capture and store exceptionally large amounts of carbon and are increasingly recognised as an important ecosystem for carbon sequestration. Yet land-use change in the tropics threatens this ecosystem and its critical... more
Mangrove forests capture and store exceptionally large amounts of carbon and are increasingly recognised as an important ecosystem for carbon sequestration. Yet land-use change in the tropics threatens this ecosystem and its critical ‘blue carbon’ (carbon stored in marine and coastal habitats) stores. The expansion of shrimp aquaculture is among the major causes of mangrove loss globally. Here, we assess the impact of mangrove to shrimp pond conversion on ecosystem carbon stocks, and carbon losses and gains over time after ponds are abandoned. Our assessment is based on an intensive field inventory of carbon stocks at a coastal setting in Thailand. We show that although up to 70% of ecosystem carbon is lost when mangroves are converted to shrimp ponds, some abandoned ponds contain deep mangrove soils (>2.5 m) and large carbon reservoirs exceeding 865 t carbon per hectare. We also found a positive recovery trajectory for carbon stocks in the upper soil layer (0–15 cm) of a chronos...
The Covid-19 outbreak has brought about fresh and intensified scrutiny of the wildlife trade, which substantively involves commerce in exotic pets. In response, major policy decisions involving trade bans have ensued, with calls for... more
The Covid-19 outbreak has brought about fresh and intensified scrutiny of the wildlife trade, which substantively involves commerce in exotic pets. In response, major policy decisions involving trade bans have ensued, with calls for similar such action to be applied across the trade chain. Yet, these measures have been criticised, largely based on concerns that they risk exacerbating poverty, undermining human rights, damaging conservation incentives, and otherwise harming sustainable development and conservation efforts. Instead, many critics propose improved regulation of the status quo, with the intention of nurturing a legal, sustainable, safe, humane, and equitable wildlife trade. Herein, we provide a countering view that outlines how the risks presented by the wildlife trade are becoming increasingly recognised as being both manifold and severe; and raise concerns that the goal of a well-regulated wildlife trade is becoming increasingly exposed as a mirage. We conclude that wh...
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Keeping exotic pets has become a popular habit in the UK in recent decades. Yet, information on the current scale of the trade and the diversity of animals involved is lacking. Here, we review the licensed sale of amphibians, reptiles,... more
Keeping exotic pets has become a popular habit in the UK in recent decades. Yet, information on the current scale of the trade and the diversity of animals involved is lacking. Here, we review the licensed sale of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals as exotic pets in the UK, identifying current geographical hotspots of trader activity, data gaps, and compliance issues related to this trade. In terms of trade volume, records showed large numbers of individual wild animals, across a wide range of species groups, are being legally sold in the UK. Maximum numbers of exotic pets permitted for sale included 54,634 amphibians, 64,810 reptiles, 23,507 birds, and 6479 mammals. Moreover, nearly 2000 pet traders located in 283 different local authority areas had permission to sell exotic pets. The scope and scale of the trade draws additional attention to the substantial animal welfare challenges associated with it, and our review serves to highlight several shortcomings associated with t...