2025-08-29 北海道大学
動物福祉の基本原則である「5つの自由」について、日英で重み付けが異なった。この差異が動物飼養の多様性に直結する可能性。
<関連情報>
- https://www.hokudai.ac.jp/news/2025/08/post-2047.html
- https://www.hokudai.ac.jp/news/pdf/250829_pr.pdf
- https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/animal-welfare/article/crosscultural-variation-in-understanding-of-animal-welfare-principles-and-animal-management-practices-among-veterinary-and-animal-welfare-professionals-in-the-uk-and-japan/E456F514F9C806227CCCF15EDDFF117E
日英の獣医師・動物福祉学研究者が有する動物福祉の原則及び管理方法に対する理解の文化差 Cross-cultural variation in understanding of animal welfare principles and animal management practices among veterinary and animal welfare professionals in the UK and Japan
Yuki Otani,Mariko Kanamori,Hiromi Kato and Cathy M. Dwyer
Animal Welfare Published:06 August 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/awf.2025.10026
Abstract
The World Organisation for Animal Health describes animal welfare as a “complex and multi-faceted subject with scientific, ethical, economic, cultural, social, religious and political dimensions.” In this study, an online survey in English and Japanese was developed based on the Five Freedoms, with the aim of investigating attitudes of veterinarians and behaviour/welfare scientists in the United Kingdom (UK) and Japan toward management of companion, farmed, experimental, zoo and wildlife animals. Respondents from the UK (n = 212) were more familiar with the Five Freedoms than those from Japan (n = 321) but both countries tended to prioritise ‘survival-related’ attributes (health and nutrition) over ‘situation-related’ attributes (behaviour) and the environmental impacts (discomfort). In Japan, however, fewer respondents recognised the ‘Freedom to express normal behaviour’ as important for domesticated animals compared to UK respondents. When considering vignettes with practical situations of cat management and dog euthanasia, UK respondents considered the provision of outdoor access to represent better management for cat welfare while most Japanese respondents thought cats should be managed entirely indoors, although the benefits and risks of going outdoors were similarly recognised in both countries. For the vignette of dog pain relating to an incurable tumour, severe pain and the dog’s mental stress motivated respondents from both countries to consider euthanasia. However, for Japanese respondents, the data suggested a perception that mental stress did not have an association with the dog’s inabilities to express normal behaviour. These data highlighted the importance of understanding the manner in which people perceive animals in different contexts and the value of considering different cultural approaches.
