The presence of pain in an animal, or another human for that matter, cannot be known for sure, but the possibility that animals experience pain can be inferred through comparative brain physiology and physical and behavioral reactions. Some specialists currently believe that all vertebrates feel pain, and that certain invertebrates, like the octopus, might too.

Animal protection advocates have raised concerns about the possible suffering of fish caused by angling. In light of recent research, some countries, like Germany, have banned specific types of fishing.

The idea that animals might not feel pain as human beings feel it traces back to the 17th-century French philosopher, René Descartes, who argued that animals do not experience pain and suffering, because they lack consciousness.Bernard Rollin of Colorado State University, the principal author of two U.S. federal laws regulating pain relief for animals, writes that researchers remained unsure into the 1980s as to whether animals experience pain, and veterinarians trained in the U.S. before 1989 were simply taught to ignore animal pain. In his interactions with scientists and other veterinarians, Rollin was regularly asked to "prove" that animals are conscious, and to provide "scientifically acceptable" grounds for claiming that they feel pain. Carbone writes that the view that animals feel pain differently is now a minority one. Academic reviews of the topic are more equivocal, noting that although the argument that animals have at least simple conscious thoughts and feelings has strong support; some critics continue to question how reliably animal mental states can be determined.

Eric Fish (born Erik-Uwe Hecht, on May 28, 1969 in Treuenbrietzen, East Germany), is the singer of German Medieval metal band Subway to Sally. He performs also as a solo musical artist.

Eric's first musical merit was that of reaching the finale of a DDR singer/songwriter competition in 1988. The same year he founded Catriona, a folk band based in Königs Wusterhausen, together with Jan Klemm ("Herr Jeh") and Marek Kalbus. The band released one album, the Rightfull King, in 1990, before it broke up. Jan Klemm went on to form the Inchtabokatables, and Eric joined Subway to Sally in 1992, where he initially played the bagpipes, pennywhistles and shared the position of singer with Simon and Bodenski. With the second release of the band, MCMXCV, Eric took over as main vocalist.

His solo project saw the light of day ("the darkness of pubs") in 1999, with Eric playing up to 6-hour-long gigs in small pubs. He was joined by Rainer Michalek in 2000, and Uwe Nordwig (Grenztanz) shortly thereafter. The program of the concerts consisted of rock cover songs, Irish folk and German singer/songwriter songs, as well as Subway to Sally songs.

Jeffrey Kalei Faine (born April 6, 1981) is an American football center who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Cleveland Browns 21st overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame.

Faine, a Pro Bowl alternate in 2007, has also played for the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Faine is a 1999 graduate of Seminole High School in Sanford, Florida.

Faine was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. During the 2006 NFL Draft, Faine was traded to the New Orleans Saints. Faine was a Pro Bowl alternate for the 2007 Pro Bowl behind center Olin Kreutz. On February 29, 2008, Faine signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was released by Tampa Bay on March 14, 2012.

William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname 'The Big Yin' ('The Big One'). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder (specifically a boilermaker) in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer in the Humblebums and subsequently as a soloist. In the early 1970s, he made the transition from folk-singer with a comedic persona to full-fledged comedian.

Connolly is also an actor, and has appeared in such films as Indecent Proposal (1993); Muppet Treasure Island (1996); Mrs. Brown (1997), for which he was nominated for a BAFTA; The Boondock Saints (1999); The Man Who Sued God (2001); Water (1985); The Last Samurai (2003); Timeline (2003); Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004); Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006); Open Season (2006); The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008); and Open Season 2 (2008). Connolly reprised his role as Noah "Il Duce" MacManus in The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. Connolly appears as the King of Lilliput in the 2010 remake of Gulliver′s Travels.