Peter Brandt wrote:
> Ellie, last year you made some excellent points in the NH M2M about how and
> why animals in nature do not suffer while being killed. It was something
> about the nervous system going numb when it goes into shock. Could I please
> repeat your thoughts on this? - your words left a great impression on me.

 If you are anesthetized by an IV injection before surgery, you would become
unconsious and not feel pain. If an animal is killed instantly, it
would not feel pain for more than a second. Great efforts are made in the
better slaughter houses to protect animals from pre-killing stress and to
kill instantly. The point I made in M2M was that even animals who are
abused while conscious, might not feel pain as much as we think. This was
based on studies of people who have had (God forbid) frontal lobotomies.
They claim that they feel pain but are not particulary bothered by it.
The lower down on the evolutionary chain, the less frotal lobe animals
have. This means that as you go down the chain, animals are less and less
likely to be bothered by pain. They would feel it and the nervous system
would act defensively, but they might not suffer as much as we think they
do. An insect will fight for its life, but probably has no awareness of
pain. I often use meditation when I am in the dentist chair, to shut off
nerve impulses to and from the frontal lobe, and I am aware of pain, but
less bothered by it.

My best, Ellie