http://www.nature.com/nsu/020429/020429-9.html Rats can be controlled by little computers strapped around their heads. Most interesting is the information that the effect is in part achieved through the stimulation of the portion of the brain that mediates pleasure. Is it acceptable to make animals do our bidding because they (in a fairly strong sense) “enjoy” it?
One character in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a pig who, when presented to a table of diners, begs them to eat him. (He nominates his choicest cuts and so forth.) Would it be right to breed animals that behave in this way? They can't be said to suffer—so to what degree is suffering irrelevant? 11:04