6. Ethics and Welfare of the Dog in Research in Europe

抄録

　Animal welfare is about an animal's quality of life. The aim of good welfare is to provide animals with the conditions that allow them to behave much as they do in nature. Studies of dog ethology provide valuable guidance and criteria for welfare. Welfare is therefore measurable and a scientific evidence-based approach is needed when improving animals' well­being.

　Ethics, in contrast, deals with what is good and right in life from the human point of view. Animal ethics deals with what is held by a particular group of people to be sufficiently good in animal life and what is a correct human action in relation to animals. Different animal ethical standards are applied in different societies. The situation becomes more complicated when society has a multicultural background, where the view of certain part of the society on animal ethics differs greatly from another group. In Westem European democracies the view of the majority of the citizens is taken into account and freedom of speech gives opportunity to others to express their opinions in discussions to influence the view of the majority. It is a process of constantly evolving the ideas, where different ethical views are present, and consensus may be reached only after a very long time. The final ethical view is written, codified and enforced by regulatory authorities, given their power by elected governments representing the majority of the people. Ethics is a product of thousands of years of history, where ideas developed in the past are mixed together in the contemporary mix of global cultures. It is not something we can measure.