Animals don't feel pain in your world, do they? Just asking because your post indicates that pain "can only relate to human consciousness."
Exactly. They can give the impression that they feel pain, but so do characters in video games when you "smack 'em" or shoot 'em. But they don't really.
I believe the animals brain is quite aware of what is stimulating his nervous system and responds with a pre-programmed response. I also believe animals can "learn". But I do not believe they "feel" in the way we apply the word to humans. They "feel" like you car "feels" when the check engine light comes on. It is a pre-programmed response originating from the brain (cpu) in response to an electrical impulse from a sensor (nerve ending), and that is all.
It would be unnerving if every time your check engine light came on, part of the programming cased a digitally stored recording of a womans blood curdling scream to come over the stereo speaker system. But it wouldn't really mean your car felt anything.