In this latest opinion piece, Researcher Network member, Tani Khara, explores the parallels between human experiences of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic and the isolation and confinement felt by other sentient beings when they are deprived of their natural ways of living.
While the recent lockdowns have been used to curb the transmission of COVID-19, they have also been linked with various adverse psychological consequences. These include stress, anxiety, feelings of social isolation and loneliness. Similarly, being in quarantine can result in negative psychological effects like depression, PTSD symptoms, confusion, anger, boredom and loneliness. There is also evidence that these symptoms could last for a number of years. Humans are inherently social mammals which is why social distancing and isolation can feel ‘unnatural’. This also explains why social disconnection has been termed a public health crisis by the World Health Organization, given the heightened mortality risks.
We may tend to think of such a form of psychological suffering as a uniquely human trait. However, there is evidence that animals also suffer from similar mental health disorders. Many animal species possess diverse intellectual and emotional capabilities such as having sophisticated problem-solving abilities and being able to demonstrate a wide range of emotions like curiosity, anxiety and fear, similar to the way humans do. Our understanding and recognition of animal sentience also continues to progress: In 2012, The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness proclaimed that mammals and birds are conscious and aware to the degree that humans are, and the absence of a neocortex does not preclude them from experiencing affective states. Thus, non-human animals in confinement and isolation can display similar reactions and symptoms as human beings do.
For example, marine mammals in places like SeaWorld can experience immense psychological distress. In their natural environment, whales and dolphins travel long distances a day, sometimes swimming over a hundred miles as they search for food and socialise with one another. However, the life of a captive whale or a dolphin is far from what they experience in their natural world. When in captivity, it becomes almost impossible for these sensitive and intelligent mammals to build social relationships, and their tanks only allow for a few strokes in any direction. As a result of the isolation and stress, many of these mammals have broken teeth as they relentlessly bite on the steel gates used to separate them. They also suffer from dorsal fin collapse due to endlessly swimming around in circles. Similarly, in zoos, circuses and other places of entertainment, many animals are confined and “broken” to the point that they lose their personalities and become submissive. This is similar to the effects noted among humans in confinement given reports of mental breakdowns, paranoia, intense agitation and self-directed violence. In fact, a recent study found some psychological parallels between the recent lockdowns and some forms of imprisonment. In both instances, there were reported feelings of unhappiness, hopelessness, missing one’s freedom, needing control over one’s life and missing one’s family/friends.
Chimpanzees are genetically closest to humans. Both species socialise, have complex emotions and intelligence and a similar physical makeup. In the book, Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe, Jane Goodall documents how Flint, a chimpanzee living in Gombe National Park in Tanzania, was deeply affected when his mother Flo passed away. Following on from her death, Flint became socially withdrawn and often stared into space. He stopped eating and became physically weak. Shortly after, Flint, who was believed to be suffering from depression, also passed away. When faced with confinement and social isolation, chimps tend to show a variety of severe behavioural abnormalities. Some of these include depression and aggression, such as hitting/ biting oneself.
Birds are similarly reported to display such behaviours. A recent study examined the effects of social isolation on African gray parrots and the effect this has on their telomeres – the caps on the ends of chromosomes which become shorter and degenerate with age and/or stress. The study found that parrots who were deprived of companionship experienced greater stress and had shorter telomeres when compared to birds living in groups. Similarly, birds confined on factory farms are often known to obsessively pluck their feathers, like the way humans might obsessively pluck their hair – a condition known as Trichotillomania – when undergoing severe stress.
Animals are also known to display signs of PTSD. For example, military dogs, who have undergone the mental strains of war, show similar PTSD type symptoms as war-traumatised soldiers. Some dogs become hyper-vigilant. Others might undergo a change in temperament such as becoming aggressive or becoming withdrawn/ timid, and avoiding areas that they had previously been comfortable with. Humans experiencing PTSD show similar such symptoms of hypertension, uncontrollable anger, emotional breakdowns and suicidal thoughts and behaviours.
By drawing parallels between the human condition and what non-human animals undergo, we may realise that there are many similarities between non-human animals and us.
While these lockdowns have been challenging, many of us may still be considered fortunate relative to what many other sentient beings undergo when confined and isolated on factory farms, zoos, entertainment parks, laboratories and other situations/places where they are deprived of their natural ways of living. Thus, sparing a thought for what these animals are forced to endure may help encourage greater empathy towards their plight as well as the larger environment which we are all a part of and which sustains us all.
The views expressed by our Research News contributors are not necessarily the views of The Vegan Society.
