Special Issue "Animal Use in Competitive Sport: Ethics and Welfare"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Ethics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2022.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Madeleine Campbell
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, Herts AL9 7TA, UK
Interests: ethics; human use of animals; use of animals in sport; ethics surrounding assisted reproductive technologies; ethics of genetic editing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, societal views about the human use of animals have shifted considerably, and consequently the “social license” to use animals in competitive sport has come under scrutiny. At the same time, those working as veterinary clinicians have become increasingly aware of the potential challenges to professional ethics and to animal welfare thrown up by involvement in animal sport. This Special Issue of Animals provides those of us interested in this area with a unique opportunity to contribute to a collated publication. The Special Issue is intended to reflect current thinking about ethical issues and the current evidence base about welfare issues relating to the use of animals in sport, and to identify necessary areas for future research. 

This Special Issue invites original research papers and review papers relating to these issues. The scope includes all species used in competitive sport, throughout their lives. Topics can include ethical or ethico-legal analyses, original research papers relating to particular ethical or welfare issues, and papers which aim to identify ethical or welfare problems from the perspective of the practitioner. Review papers are also welcomed, provided that they give a new perspective of the research topic and use up-to-date literature.

Dr. Madeleine Campbell
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • ethics of animals in sport
  • ethics of animal use
  • welfare of animals in sport
  • animal ethics
  • ethics of veterinary sports medicine

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
An Ethical Framework for the Use of Horses in Competitive Sport: Theory and Function
Animals 2021, 11(6), 1725; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061725 - 09 Jun 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1637
Abstract
Growing ethical concern about equestrian sport is reflected in publications by regulatory authorities, animal charities, and the lay press; and in government debate and social media. However, attempts by regulators and stakeholders to address ethical issues in equine sport have been discipline specific [...] Read more.
Growing ethical concern about equestrian sport is reflected in publications by regulatory authorities, animal charities, and the lay press; and in government debate and social media. However, attempts by regulators and stakeholders to address ethical issues in equine sport have been discipline specific and ad hoc. Ethical frameworks can help stakeholders to make contextual decisions about what should or should not be done in a particular situation. However, when existing animal welfare frameworks and existing sports ethics frameworks are reviewed in this paper, it becomes clear that none provide us with a suitable or sufficient tool for considering ethical issues which can arise in situations where the athlete is a non-human, non-consenting participant. This paper presents the theoretical development of a novel ethical framework, with the aim of providing stakeholders with a tool which they might apply to the consideration of the ethical questions which inevitably arise in relation to (equestrian) sport. The derivation and limitations of the ethical framework are explained. The use of the framework will serve both to underwrite the continuation of the social license to use horses in sport and also to enable those within equestrian sport to critically assess existing and proposed practices and to make welfare-improving adjustments to practice if/where necessary. The theoretical framework as presented here is currently being practically tested and refined in consultation with industry stakeholders, and that research will be submitted for publication in due course. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Use in Competitive Sport: Ethics and Welfare)
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