Ethics Unleashed: Developing responsive ethical practice and review for the inclusion of non-Human Animal participants in qualitative research

Traditionally, animal ethics committees evaluate situations in which non-human animals will be ‘experimented on’. In this process, the risks of harm to the non-human animal are weighed against the benefits to humans. Human research ethics committees are also human-centric. Our relationships with nonhuman animals are changing, and consequently, these changes are being investigated via an increasing body of research. Service animals (animals used to support people with physical or mental impairment either through therapy or assistance) are more prevalent in society and social service provision, and the therapeutic benefits of companion animals are increasingly recognized (see, for example, Marr et al., 2000; Nimer & Lundahl, 2007; Fine, 2011; Bernabei et al., 2013; Kamioka et al., 2014). Rather than ‘experimenting on’animals, this body of research investigates the therapeutic relationship between human and non-human animals in the organizational or home setting (see selection: Benda et al., 2003; Berns, 2013; Nagasawa et al., 2015; Barker et al., 2016; Campbell et al., 2016; Burgon et al., 2017). Included in this body of research are qualitative inquiries exploring the human experience with companion and service animals. Therapeutic human-animal interaction studies call for a revision of our conception of the non-human animal in research. Such studies require the application of new thinking both for researchers and ethics committee members in supporting ethical research practice. In this chapter, we provide background on the shifts in thinking regarding non-human animals in the service and companion animal setting. We also …