Extending animal training ethics: A LIFE model expansion

Summary Ethics in animal training practices has in the last few decades seen great interest, inspired by animal training practitioners and owners/guardians motivated to improve the lives of their animals. Likewise, the applied animal sciences have seen increased focus on research dedicated to the welfare and well-being of animals across a variety of settings. The growing implication is that people, including animal scientists and practitioners, are considerably invested in improving the way we treat animals, which includes how we train and manage their behaviour. This paper expands on the previously introduced Least Inhibitive, Functionally Effective (LIFE) model for ethical animal training practices in two parts: (1) brief histories of the ethical movement within both animal training and the welfare sciences, and (2) critical components for ethical animal training practices. The latter is itself expanded into three parts: (a) increased meaningful choices, (b) identification of behavioural function, and (c) maximizing training success. The goal is to provide a concise and scientifically consistent set of guidelines for how to describe and implement ethical animal training practices. In addition, we attempt to provide the reader with a set of illustrations, examples, and published findings that can be used to identify important concepts that can be applied to their own practices.