The culture of research institutions — not just regulations and facilities — shapes animal welfare outcomes, with leadership, training, and values all influencing how animals are treated in practice.
Animal welfare in research institutions is ultimately determined by culture as much as by regulations and facilities. Facilities that meet every regulatory requirement can still have poor welfare outcomes if the prevailing culture treats animals as mere equipment, discourages reporting of welfare concerns, or lacks leadership commitment to continuous improvement. Conversely, institutions with strong welfare cultures go beyond compliance to pursue genuine welfare improvement, empower animal care staff to raise concerns, and recognize welfare science expertise alongside research productivity. Building welfare-positive institutional culture requires structural changes including protected reporting channels, leadership modeling of welfare values, and genuine integration of welfare science into research training.