Culture of Care
3. In practice
The next pillar is the establishment of clear structures that support the Culture of Care and make it possible. Personnel support forms the fourth pillar. Every institution has a local management that supports and furthers the change. It has a responsibility to the employees for the demonstration of care and engagement. This leads to the pillar of practical work.In animal care, the company develops processes that foster continual improvement in the 3Rs. The use of animals involves appropriate planning of experiments and a refinement of care and animal welfare practices.
The ethics of care described by political scientist Joan Tonto shows the ethical dimensions that are served by a Culture of Care.
Ethical dimensions of the Culture of Care
- Responsibility: for cultural, ethical and legal reasons, the research community is responsible for looking after animal welfare.
- Attentiveness: employees and management must be aware of and appreciate the needs of their colleagues and of research animals.
- Competence: research institutions are responsible for establishing competence so that advances in animal welfare can actually be achieved – without diminishing the quality of the research.
- Responsiveness: the biggest ethical challenge of research using animals is to establish an empathy for all those involved that still allows medical advances to be achieved.