Do animals feel pain? Short Answer

The evidence from their behaviour and nervous systems suggests that animals do, in fact, feel pain as we do. In fact, Biologist Richard Dawkins has suggested that animals may even feel more pain than humans do. This is because a major function of pain, from an evolutionary perspective, is to inform an organism which behaviours are damaging and therefore should not be repeated. Most animals, however, are much less intelligent than humans and therefore may not be able to use this insight and intelligence to figure out good from bad without experiencing the consequences. Simply put, animals may have to learn from each mistake whereas humans can use their intelligence to figure out in advance what would be a mistake, meaning that animals may have heightened senses of pain for this reason.