犬との共生

犬との共生の度合いは、その国の文明度を表すといっても 過 言 で は な い。「 世 界 一 」 の 国 は イ ギ リ ス で あ る こ とに誰も異論はないであろう。一方、日本は？おそらく先進文明国のなかで、かなり低い順位に位置付けられる可％ で あ っ た。 何 が 足 り

20

能性がある。最近の調査（麻布大学）で、犬を不満なく

飼 育 し て い る 家 庭 は、 僅 か にな い の か？ 徹 底 的 に 明 ら か に し、 真 の 共 生 国 家 を 目 指したい。

《主催》社団法人 ジャパンケネルクラブ《サポート企業》マース ジャパン リミテッド《司会／座長》永村 武美氏（社団法人 ジャパンケネルクラブ 理事長）

《 構成者》「犬との共生」太田 光明氏（麻布大学 介在動物学研究室 教授）《演者》「人の健康と動物たち」
内山 秀彦氏（東京農業大学 バイオセラピー学科 助教／
ヒトと動物の関係学会 理事）「動物愛護法とイヌの福祉」
林 良博氏（東京農業大学 農学部 教授／農林水産省 生物多様性戦略検討会 座長）「こころのワクチン」
村田 香織氏（もみの木動物病院（神戸市）獣医師）「ペットから学んだ異文化」
石山 恒氏（マースジャパン リミテッド 副社長）

WS

Workshop IX
ワークショップ Ⅸ“A Good Relationship with Dogs”
The levels of relationship between human beings and dogs reflect the degrees of civilization of the country. The
best country in the world must be the United Kingdom. How about Japan? ” Japan likely ranks relatively low
among the developed nations concerning this relationship. According to a survey by Azabu University, only 20%
of families keeping dogs are satisfied with the relationship between family members and their dogs. What iswrong? We discuss every issue about keeping dogs.
Organizer: Japan Kennel Club
Supporting Company: Mars Japan Limited
MC / Chairperson:“Zoonosis: Diseases that transfer between pets and humans in daily life”
Takemi NAGAMURA, President, Japan Kennel Club
Workshop Speaker Abstracts“The Partnership between People and Dogs in Japan”
Mitsuaki OTA, PhD and DVM, Professor, Azabu University
Speakers:“The Effects of Animals on Human Health”
Hidehiko UCHIYAMA, Assistant Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture; Board Director, Society for
the Study of Human Animal Relations (HARs)“The Animal Welfare Act and Dog Welfare”
Yoshihiro HAYASHI, Veterinarian, Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture; Chairperson, MAFF National
Committee for Biodiversity Strategy“A Mind Vaccine”
Kaori MURATA, Veterinarian, Mominoki Animal Clinic, Kobe City
“Learning About Other Cultures from Pets”
Hisashi ISHIYAMA, Vice President, Mars Japan Limited

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012

221

《主催者および座長メッセージ

ORGANIZER & CHAIR MESSAGE》

社団法人 ジャパンケネルクラブ 理事長・永村 武美

Takemi NAGAMURA, President,
Japan Kennel Club

社団法人ジャパンケネルクラブは、犬質の向上、犬の

今回、人と犬の共生のあり方をテーマとして行われる飼育の拡大・定着及び動物愛護精神の高揚を目的に設立

ワークショップを私共が主催させていただくことは、誠された社団法人であり、この目的を達成するため、純粋に時宜を得たものであると考えております。

犬種の血統登録や展覧会 ･ 競技会等を実施する国内最大スピーカーとしては、内山先生、林先生及び村田先生、の愛犬家組織であります。また、FCI( 国際畜犬連盟 ) の石山様という各分野の第一人者をお招きをしております。

加盟団体で、犬を通じた国際交流と連携にも力を注いで全国の多くの愛犬家のご参加を心からお待ち申し上げて、おります。FCI が公認している 342 犬種の繁殖指針とす

私の御挨拶と致します。

るために犬種標準 ( スタンダード ) が定められており、これに基づいた犬の繁殖評価をする場として、展覧会や競技会を全国各地で開催しております。
昨今、一部の犬種のスタンダードが動物虐待として批判を浴びており、その再検証が必要であると考えられています。即ち、犬種の改良と繁殖のプロフェッショナルというべき会員を多く抱える当団体としては、健全で優良な犬を全国の愛犬家に供給する責務があるからであります。

The Japan Kennel Club (JKC) is an incorporated associationthat was founded for the purposes of improving thequality of dogs, establishing and expanding dog breeding
procedures, and enhancing the spirit of animal welfare. In
addition to being Japan’s largest organization of dog lovers,
the JKC functions as the country’s primary registry body forpurebred dog pedigrees and as an organizer of exhibitions
and competitions, and as a member organization of the
Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI), it also focuses
its energies on promoting international exchanges andcooperation through dogs. The FCI recognizes 342 breeds ofdog, each of which has been given its own standard that canbe used as a breeding guideline for the breed in question.
Moreover, the JKC stages exhibitions and competitions
throughout the nation. These events serve as opportunities
to conduct dog breed evaluations based on these standards.
Recently, the standards governing some dog breeds havebeen drawing criticism as a form of animal abuse. The needfor further verification of these standards is therefore now

222

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

being considered. As an organization with many members
who are professionals in the improvement and breeding ofdifferent dog breeds, we have an obligation to provide doglovers throughout the nation with healthy and high-quality
dogs.
I believe the present conference is a very timely occasion
for us to be holding a workshop on the theme of improved
co-existence between people and dogs and better man toanimal relationships.
As speakers, we have invited Professor Uchiyama, Professor
Hayashi, Dr. Murata and Mr. Ishiyama each of whom is aleading authority in their respective field. I would like toconclude my message by voicing the sincere hope that manydog lovers throughout the nation will participate in thisconference.

《WS 構成者メッセージ

WORKSHOP SPEAKER ABSTRACTS》

犬との共生
The Partnership between People and Dogs in Japan
麻布大学 介在動物学研究室 教授・太田 光明

Mitsuaki OTA, PhD and DVM, Professor, Azabu University

犬の祖先オオカミと “ 人類 ” との付き合いは、30 万年るものであることにかんがみ、何人も、動物をみだりに以上も前からと考えられています。いわゆる旧人、ネア

殺し、傷つけ、又は苦しめることのないようにするのみ

ンデルタール人の時代です。現代の人類の祖先クロマニ

でなく、人と動物の共生に配慮しつつ、その習性を考慮

ヨン人の誕生より前から、“ 人類 ” は犬の祖先と何らかのして適正に取り扱うようにしなければならない ” と謳っ関係を築いていたことになります。そして、進化を続け、ている。これは、明らかに “ 欧米並み ” である。しかし、今から 15,000 年ほど前に “ 犬の誕生 ” に至ったのです。

まだ足りないところがある。

オオカミの時代から、狩猟を手伝い、そして人を守って

イ ギ リ ス で は、“ 犬 を 飼 う と き、 必 ず 家 族 で Dogs

きたものと思われます。その進化のプロセスを単純に考School に通う ”、欧米諸国では、“ 犬はアニマルアシス

えれば、今日のコンパニオンアニマル “ 家族の一員 ” とテッドセラピーに頻繁に用いられる ”、そして “ 犬の母子しての一つのゴールは自明の理かもしれません。

分離は、生後 8 週を経てからである ”。なぜ、わが国では、一方で、人々は、犬との新たな共生を真面目に考え始めました。例えば、「動物の愛護及び管理に関する法律」（動

そうならないのでしょうか？ひょっとしたら、日本は真の “ 島国 ” かもしれません。

物愛護法）の改正の歴史は、その好例です。1973 年のこのワークショップでは、“ 何が足りないのか ” を考え、「動物の保護及び管理に関する法律」（動管法）では、動真の文明国家に相応しい “ 犬との共生 ” を構築する第一物は “ モノ ” でした。しかし、1999 年の改正法（名称は歩としたい。

「動管法」を「動物愛護法」に変更）では、“ 動物が命あThe relationship between human beings and wolves began
more than 300 thousand years ago when Neanderthals were
living on Earth. We already had a certain relationship withthe wolf, ancestor of our modern-day dogs, even before
the first early-modern humans, the Cro-Magnon, appeared.
The animal we can define as “a dog” was produced about
15 thousand years ago and, since then, the dog has worked
for humans, helping them hunt and guarding them fromenemies. When we consider the path of dog evolution, it
may be axiomatic that “a dog” should become a family
member, as it has become in present times.
For the better future, on the other hand, humans would start
to think about new partnership with dogs. For instance, theAct on Protection and Management of Animals, which wasestablished in 1973, was revised twice, in 1999 and 2005. In
1973, under the law all animals were regarded as “things”,
not “lives”. However, in 1999 the fundamental principleof the revised Act (renamed to the Act on Welfare andManagement of Animals) was explicitly stated as follows:“Recognizing that animals are living beings, no person shallkill, injure, or inflict cruelty on animals unnecessarily, andwhen keeping animals, every person shall fully understandtheir habits and give them proper care so that people
and animals can live together.” This Act could really becompared to those of Western countries. However, there arestill many points that are inadequate.
In the United Kingdom almost every family with a new dog
attend ‘Dog School’ to learn the proper way to look after
their animal. In the Western countries, dogs have come toplay an important role in supporting human health, both
physical and mental, an example being ‘animal-assisted
therapy’. In addition, most of the ‘civilized’ countries follow
a rule that “separating a puppy from its mother is prohibited
before 8 weeks following birth”. This set of conditions
is very different to Japan. So, as a people, we must ask
ourselves “Why is this so?”.
In this Workshop IX we must take our first steps to improve
the situation in Japan, and build a true partnership between
humans and dogs.

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012223

人の健康と動物たち
The Effects of Animals on Human Health東京農業大学 バイオセラピー学科 助教／ヒトと動物の関係学会 理事・内山 秀彦

Hidehiko UCHIYAMA, Assistant Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture;
Board Director, Society for the Study of Human Animal Relations (HARs)

1970 年代後半から、欧米諸国では、動物介在活動・

このように動物がもたらす人の健康への良い効果は、療法（AAA/AAT）に関わるさまざまな研究が展開された。

ウマでは、“ 障害者乗馬 ” として 1950 年代より広く知らなかでも、FRIEDMANN ら（1980）は、心疾患で入院しれている。2010 年 7 月、ストックホルムで開催された「人た患者の生存率に関して、ペットの飼い主の方が、飼いと動物の関係に関する国際会議」（IAHAIO Conference）

主でない人よりも退院 1 年後の生存率が高いことを報告

での報告で、ドイツでは約 17％の病院で、一般診療としした。これは同時に、ペットとの生活はストレスの軽減て AAT を行っているとのことであった。さらに 90％以に明らかに良いことを示したものである（ANDERSON et

上の医療従事者が AAT の効果を認めていた。わが国とのal. 1992）。また、Lynette A. HART（1997）は、高齢者差は歴然である。

には、社交の促進、アイデンティティの確立、ストレス

わが国で AAT が普及しない理由は何なのであろうか？

の軽減、そして動機づけをもたらすことから、ペット飼

１）国民性の違い、２）医療従事者が AAT の効果を知る

育を勧めている。また、イヌを飼うことによって、病院機会がない、３）医学と動物学をコーディネイトする専への通院回数が明らかに減少したとの画期的な報告もあ門家がいない、など多々あろう。しかし、もっとも重要る（SIEGEL 1990）。これはストレスの多い生活をおくるな要因は “ 科学的な検証がまったく不十分である ” こと

イヌを飼っていない老人（70 歳以上）と同様な状況のイである。James A. SERPELL 教授は、「欧米諸国でも決しヌを飼っている老人を比べたとき、1 年間に病院に通うて普及しているわけではない。その要因は “ なぜ効果が回数が明らかに違うことを示したもので、アメリカの権あるかなど科学的な検証が不十分なためだ ”」と述べて

威ある研究機関 National Institute of Health もその効果いる。

を公式に認めている。

Since the 1970s, some very interesting research developedin the field of Animal-assisted Activities and Therapy (AAA/
AAT) in western countries. For example, in 1980 Friedmann,
et al. demonstrated that human patients suffering from heartdisease survived longer (by one more year) if they had a dog
companion compared to patients without dogs. This means thatliving with a dog reduces stress in people on a daily basis. In
1997 Hart recommended that elderly people keep pets in order
to better develop their social contact, identity, and motivation
for life. In 1990, Siegel reported distinct evidence that elderly
people over 70 years old who keep a dog tend to make fewer
visits to the hospital. These findings have led to the US National
Institute of Health allowing medical doctors to prescribe petkeeping as an alternative to drugs.
The effects of animals on human physical and mental healthhave been known since the 1950s and from the Olympic
achievements of Liz Hartel from Denmark. Despite sufferingfrom polio since 1943 she won a medal at the 1952 Helsinki
Olympic Games in the dressage event. Ever since, the idea of
rehabilitation through horse riding successfully made its way
around the community of therapists. At the 12th Conference224

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012of IAHAIO held in Stockholm, July 2010, it was reported
that about 17% of hospitals in Germany are using AAT as
medical treatment and that more than 90% of medical staffs areconvinced that AAT has useful effects. However, there has beenan alarming difference in acceptance between western countries
and Japan.
So why has AAT in Japan never developed? There are probably
several reasons including a difference in national traits, thelack of opportunities for medical practitioners to witness thereal effects of AAT, and absence of professional individuals
that coordinate in both medical and animal fields. However,
the most likely reason is that there has been no scientificevidence for the effects of animals on human health. So at this
symposium I intend to discuss the mechanisms behind AAT.

動物愛護法とイヌの福祉
The Animal Welfare Act and Dog Welfare
東京農業大学 農学部 教授／農林水産省 生物多様性戦略検討会 座長・林 良博

Yoshihiro HAYASHI, Veterinarian, Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture;
Chairperson, MAFF National Committee for Biodiversity Strategy

平成 22 年 8 月から 23 年 12 月までの 1 年 5 カ月間、
環境省中央環境審議会の動物愛護部会に設けられた「動状維持を望む人びとはあまり関心を示さない傾向にある
ことを忘れてはならない。

物愛護管理のあり方検討小委員会」は、25 回の論議を経

内容的には、動物取扱業の適正化が焦点となり、深夜てようやく報告書をとりまとめ、動物愛護部会に諮るこ

生体展示規制、移動販売、オークション等への規制につとができた。

いて論議された。とくに幼齢動物を親等から引き離す日

動物の愛護及び管理に関する法律は、その立法化から齢については意見がまとまらず、三つの案（45 日齢、7

過去 2 回の改正まで、すべて議員立法として提出・成立

週齢、8 週齢）が併記されることになった。さらに飼養してきた経緯がある。今回は、内閣による法案提出が噂

施設の適正化や動物取扱業の業種追加についても検討さされたが、結果として従来通りの議員立法になる見通しれた。その検討結果については、環境省のホームページである。

で紹介されているので参照されたい。

今回の検討における際立った特徴は、パブリックコメ検討小委員会の座長として痛感したことは、すべてのントとして寄せられた意見が、検討の前半部に対して 12犬種に対応できる科学的データが不十分であることであ万通を超え、さらに後半部に対しても 5 万通を超えたこる。人間もそうであるように、犬においても個別性が極とであり、多くの人びとが本法の改正に高い関心を寄せめて高く、ひとつの基準に収まらない動物であるといえたことが示されたことである。しかし、パブリックコメる。このような状況下では、示された科学的データを尊ントは改正に熱心な人びとが意見を寄せるのに対し、現重しながらも、個別の具体的事例を踏まえて一定の基準作成を目指す必要がある。

The Subcommittee to study the welfare and management ofanimals, set up under the Animal Welfare Working Group ofJapan’s Ministry of the Environment’s Central Environmental
Council, met 25 times between August 2010 and December
2011. The Subcommittee compiled a report summarizing thediscussions held during the 17 month period to the Animal
Welfare Working Group.
The passing of the Act on Animal Welfare and Management(Animal Welfare Act), as well as its two revisions, was initiatedby lawmakers. Although it was once rumored that the thirdrevision would be submitted by the Cabinet, it will likely besubmitted as another lawmaker-initiated bill.
What has been different about this revision (compared to theprevious ones) is that the Subcommittee discussions have drawn
much attention from the public. More than 120,000 publiccomments were submitted regarding the interim summary fromthe first half of the discussions and more than 50,000 regarding
the summary of the latter half. The significance of these figures,
however, should be treated with some caution because thosepeople who are supportive of the proposed revision are more
likely to express an opinion than those who favor maintaining thestatus quo. The latter tend to show less interest in revision drafts.

The major focus of the discussions concerned the appropriate
handling of animals by animal related businesses. The
subcommittee recommended strengthening the regulations
governing the display of animals late at night, mobile pet
shops, and the selling of animals by auction. Regarding theage at which baby animals can be separated from their parents,
the subcommittee could not reach an agreement and decided
to submit three different viewpoints in their report (namely, at
45 day old, 7 weeks old, and 8 weeks old). Additional topics
discussed appropriate animal feeding facilities, further animal
handling business categories, and others. The summary of the
discussions can be found on the website of Japan’s Ministry of
the Environment.
As the Chair of the Subcommittee, I am acutely aware that
there is not enough scientific data that we can apply to allkinds of dogs. Like humans, dogs have great individuality andone standard approach cannot cover all kinds of dog. It will
therefore be necessary to establish a certain standard based on,
not only scientific data, but also on specific examples.

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012225

こころのワクチン
A Mind Vaccine
もみの木動物病院（神戸市）獣医師・村田 香織

Kaori MURATA, Veterinarian, Mominoki Animal Clinic, Kobe City

近年人間社会でもさまざまなこころの病がクローズアップされている。人間が人間社会で生活する場合でさいておく必要がある。

え、職場や学校に馴染めないなどの適応障害が生じる。

問題行動を持つ成犬の治療に比べると子犬の時期にこ動物でありながら人間社会で生活するペットは、本来のれを予防しておくことの方がはるかに少ない努力で大きその種の社会とは全く異なる価値観の世界で生きていかな成果を生む。また成犬の問題行動の治療は非常に忍耐なければならない。動物としてごく自然な行動も人間社が必要であるが、子犬の教育は毎日のようにその成長を会では受け入れられないことが少なくない。

実感できる楽しい作業である。非常に柔軟な頭を持つ彼

長年ペットの問題行動のカウンセリングを行っている

らは、適切な行動を学習するのも早い。

が、飼い主が犬を擬人化して自己流のしつけをしていた

問題行動を予防し、飼い主とペットが楽しく幸せに暮り、不適切なアドバイスや間違った情報に惑わされ、問らすための教育を私は「こころのワクチン」と呼んでいる。

題を悪化させていることが多い。また子犬の時期の社会

心身ともに健康でしあわせな犬は飼い主のこころを明る化不足が原因と思われるケースも目立つ。

くし、周囲の人にも快く受け入れられる。

子犬の時期に十分な教育の機会を与えられないまま成伝染病のワクチンと同じく、すべての動物病院でこの長し、人間社会に適応しなければならない犬達は日々ス

こころのワクチンを接種する事ができれば幸せな飼い主

トレスを強いられる。彼らが人間社会で幸せに暮らすたと犬を増やし、結果的に不幸になる犬を減らすことがでめには、順応性の高い子犬の時期に人間社会に適応でききるだろう。

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on various
kinds of mental illness. In today’s complex society, people aresubject to a high incidence of adjustment disorders that may
prevent them from fitting in comfortably at work or school.
Meanwhile, the pet animals that live in human society areforced to conform to a world defined by a totally different senseof values than they would follow naturally in the wild. Indeed,
completely natural behavior exhibited by pet animals is often
found to be totally unacceptable in human society.

be made to master sociability during their puppy period, while
they are still highly adaptable.

I have been counseling people about the problematic behaviorof pets for many years, and during that time I have found that ina great many cases, dog owners tend to personalize their dogs
and impose their own style of discipline. As such they often
make problems worse after being swayed by inappropriate
advice and incorrect information. Also, I have noticed that if
there is a lack of socialization at the time when a dog is a young
puppy then this can result in problems later on.
Puppies that grow up without the opportunity to receive
sufficient training and that subsequently have to adjust to living
in human society undergo a variety of stresses. In order forthem to live happily in human society, they need to build up a
relationship of mutual trust with their owners. They should also

226

るように社会性を身につけさせ、飼い主と信頼関係を築りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

Compared with treating adult dogs that exhibit problematic
behavior, preventing problematic behavior during the puppy
period produces major results with much less effort. Also,
the treatment of problematic behavior in adult dogs requires
a lot of patience whereas, by contrast, training puppies is apleasant task and the animals’ progress clearly perceivable ona daily basis. Puppies have very flexible minds, and they learn
appropriate behavior very quickly.
I have coined the term “mind vaccine” to describe this kind of
training in order to prevent problematic behavior and enable
pets and their owners to live together pleasantly and happily.
A dog that is healthy and happy both mentally and physicallywill lighten its owner’s heart and it will also gain the willing
acceptance of the people surrounding it.
In the same way as a vaccine can prevent the development of
an infectious disease, if dogs can be inoculated with a mind
vaccine at a veterinary hospital, this will increase the number of
happy owners and dogs and consequently decrease the numberof unhappy dogs.

ペットから学んだ異文化
Learning About Other Cultures from Pets
マースジャパン リミテッド 副社長・石山 恒

Hisashi ISHIYAMA, Vice President,
Mars Japan Limited

ペット産業に従事して 29 年になる。勤務している会
社が多国籍企業で、会議等で 30 カ国に旅をした。何故だが日本の鎌倉時代からの鹿、猪狩りの絵を見ても、犬の本質的な特徴が描かれたものは殆ど無い。

そんなに多くの国々に行く必要があるか疑問に思うかも

農耕生活に犬が余り必要でなかった日本やアジア地域

しれないが、7 億匹もの犬や猫が世界で飼われていて、と、犬の存在が絶対的に必要であったヨーロッパ狩猟民

色々の国のペット事情を理解することが世界の事業活動

族との違いなのだろうか。そうでない日本では犬はペッに重要であった。1980 年代日本でも、ペットフード産

トと言うより愛玩犬と言う表現が最適かもしれないと思業が開花し始め、我社でも海外の成功事例を日本市場にうようになった。日本語には静的、動的状況を述べる形導入したのだが、そこで多くの文化的相違に直面した。

容詞や副詞、動詞が極端に少ない。もちろん広い語源を海外で多くの犬種が存在するのに何故日本やアジアでは持つ英語は遥かに語彙が豊富であるが、状況を的確に伝少ないのだろうか。日本で古くから飼われている犬は柴へ、役割分担と時 ( 季節 ) と位置の明確さが必要な「狩猟」

犬の相似形にすぎず、この違いはどこから来るのか。そと、余り動的状況の伝達と役割分担を必要としない「農れを理解する為に、世界各地の博物館と美術館をよく訪耕」の違いから、このような言葉に違いの発展につながっれた。博物館は、何千年もの人類の変遷の歴史を、数時たのではないかと、ペット産業を通じてふと思った。

間で見て取れ、時代時代の生活を教えてくれる。イギリスの絵画で分るのだが、17 世紀から近代に至るまでの貴今回のパネルディスカションではいろいろの国のペッ

族の家族絵には必ずと言っていいほど足元に犬がいる。

ト事情を通して討議に参加したい。

I have been working in the pet food industry for 29 years. In
the course of my work for a multinational company, I havevisited more than 30 countries to attend conferences, etc. It may
seem surprising to have to visit so many places but, as there arearound 700 million pet dogs and cats around the world, and as
our company is active worldwide, it is important to understandthe situation for pets in different countries. In Japan of the
1980s, the pet food industry began to flourish and our company
introduced products that had proven successful internationallyfor the new market. Nevertheless, we did face a number ofcultural differences.

are almost certain to see one or more dogs at their feet. However,
if you look at Japanese pictures that depict deer or boar hunting
from the Kamakura Period, there are almost no examples thatshow the essential features of dogs.

In spite of the fact that around the world there is a great variety
of dog breeds, why is it that only a relatively few varieties are
popular in Japan and other Asian countries? It seems that mostof the dog breeds kept in Japan since ancient times are similar inappearance to the small Shiba. So I asked myself ‘how could thisdifference from the West have arisen’? To answer this question,
I paid frequent visits to museums and art galleries around theworld. Within just a few hours of looking at museum collections
we can see a fascinating history of how human beings havechanged over the course of several thousand years. This teaches
us something about the lives people led in different periods. For
instance, if you view English portraits of aristocratic families thatwere painted between the 17th century and the present era, you

I suggest this is due to a difference between Japan (and the
Asian region) on the one hand, where dogs were not sonecessary for agricultural life and Europe, on the other, where
they were absolutely essential for activities such as hunting. I
have come to think that, in Japan, where working dogs are lessimportant, the expression “favorite dog” is more appropriate
than “pet”. In the Japanese language, the number of adjectives,
adverbs and verbs for expressing static or dynamic situations
is extremely small. Of course, the English language, with
its wider range of word origins, has a far larger vocabulary.
But even so, it may be that a word such as “hunting”, whichconveys the situation vividly and requires further clarity only interms of role-sharing, season and location, compares differently
to a word like “agriculture”, which is not required to convey a
dynamic situation or role-sharing. Through my work in the pet
industry I have felt that this kind of cultural difference has led
to the development of such linguistic differences.
I look forward to participating in the panel discussion bycommenting on the different pet situations in various countries.

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012227

WS9-Record

WS9- 記録集

228

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

《主催者および座長メッセージ

ORGANIZER & CHAIR MESSAGE》

社団法人 ジャパンケネルクラブ 理事長・永村 武美

Takemi NAGAMURA, President,
Japan Kennel ClubIn the UK, people have a consciousness of theirstandards for that respective breed. As many breeds

nation being a leader. For instance, they call their dog

of dog are native to the UK, including the bulldog, theorganization “The Kennel Club”, while here in Japan we

FCI has accepted the modified standards. At the samecall ours “The Japan Kennel Club”. In a broadcast fromtime, it has appealed to dog show judges not to give too

two years ago in January, the BBC criticized certain

much attention to certain exaggerated body featuresrules within the Club’s standards that can be judged

when they are making their assessments. So, overall,

as tantamount to animal abuse. One typical example

there is a movement in judging for considering overall

related to bulldogs which, in most cases, are unablecanine health and giving the top marks to the healthiest

to give birth naturally. A Cesarean section needs to be

individuals. So we are now, at least, in an era in which

performed in order to deliver the puppies. The BBC

our work as a kennel club is no longer limited to

criticized this practice as animal abuse.

checking that dogs are of pure stock, improving breeds,
and issuing pedigree certificates.

As you may know, the world’s largest dog show, Crufts,
is organized by the Kennel Club. The show is held in

It is against this background that I am chairing today’

March every year. Being a very traditional and high-s workshop. In this booklet, it states that Prof. Ohta ofcaliber dog show, there is always some prince or other

Azabu University is scheduled to deliver a talk at today’s

member of the Royal Family in attendance. However,workshop. However, as Prof. Ohta is unavailable today,in the wake of the BBC’s broadcast, the Royal FamilyProf. Uchiyama, also of Azabu University, has kindly

has let it be known that none of its members will beagreed to talk to us in his place. After Prof. Uchiyama’attending Crufts in the future. The Kennel Club alsos talk, there will be two other speakers, namely, Prof.

suffered other set-backs including the withdrawal of

Hayashi of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Mr.

several pet food makers from their sponsorship ofIshiyama, the Vice President of Mars Japan Limited,

Crufts.

which is sponsoring this conference. These speakers
will provide us with today’s topics.

The Club took the criticism about its dog breed
standards sometimes amounting to animal abuse very

We are allocating 30 or 40 minutes for each speaker

seriously. It decided to make changes to the standards

to deliver their talks and then we will move on to freein the interests of breeding healthier dogs. As a result,discussion plus a Q&A session, which will take up thewith considerable effort, the club has made significant

final hour. I would like to take this opportunity to thankmodifications relating to nearly 20 dog breeds.

everybody in advance for your cooperation. So, Prof.
Uchiyama, please start your talk.

On the other hand, The FCI (Fédération CynologiqueInternationale: the world’s largest international canine
organization, with over 80 member countries) holds
standards for some 350 breeds. The FCI has decided
that the country of origin for each breed should set the

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012229

人の健康と動物たち
The Effects of Animals on Human Health東京農業大学 バイオセラピー学科 助教／ヒトと動物の関係学会 理事・内山 秀彦

Hidehiko UCHIYAMA, Assistant Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture;
Board Director, Society for the Study of Human Animal Relations (HARs)

Hello everybody. I am Hidehiko Uchiyama.

Relationships between people and animals began to
become a topic in the 1980s, a few years before theI used to belong to Azabu University but I have

IAHAIO was established. The real starting point insince moved, from this year, to Tokyo University of

the field was marked by the Dundee meeting held inAgriculture. While at Azabu University I studied under

1979. Here, specialists in education, psychology andthe guidance of Prof. Mitsuaki Ohta for over ten years.

veterinary science gathered and discussed the idea

Today, I’d like to talk about what I was taught in thoseof holding a conference for the purpose of seriously

years, and also about the things I believe I should try toconsidering human-animal interaction and the effects

tackle from now on.

animals have on people. This movement eventually led
to the establishment of the IAHAIO in 1990.

The subject of my talk today is “the effects of animals
on human health”. Under this theme, I intend to talk

The IAHAIO holds conferences at three-yearly intervals.

mainly about the current state of animal-assisted

These conferences have taken place in Geneva in 1995,

therapy, or AAT, in this country.

Prague in 1998, Rio de Janeiro in 2001, Glasgow in2004 and Tokyo in 2007. I suppose some of you may

The foundation of AAT at the academic level is thehave been among the participants. I took part in thesubject of anthrozoology, which is the scientific study

Tokyo conference and the Stockholm conference, whichof the relationships between humans and other animals,

was held in 2010. At the Stockholm event, a wide range

or human-animal interaction. I would like you toof research and activities related to human-animal

understand that AAT is essentially a variant, or in otherinteraction were introduced.

words, an application model of anthrozoology.
In addition, in 1991, an organization called the
I would like to talk about the historical side of studying

International Society for Anthrozoology, or ISAZ, washuman-animal interaction. Perhaps this will basically beestablished as a support organization for the scientifica brush-up story for you. It concerns an association thatand scholarly study of human-animal interactions.

goes by the long name of “the International Association

ISAZ has held an annual conference each year sinceof Human-Animal Interaction Organizations” and1992, and its 2011 conference met in Indianapolis.

i s b e t t e r k n o w n b y t h e a c r o nym I A H A I O. T h e

This organization also publishes a quarterly academic

President of this association is Dr. Rebecca Johnson.

journal ent itled Anthrozoös. In 2006, another

IAHAIO was founded in 1990 as an internationalorganization called the International Society fororganization to bring together national associations

Animal-Associated Therapy, or ISAAT, was formed. Thisand related organizations interested in advancing theorganization has the mission of certifying educational

understanding and appreciation of the links between

institutions involved in AAT (animal-assisted therapy),

animals and humans.

AAA (animal-assisted activities), and AAE (animalassisted education).

230

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

The attitude in the West towards proceeding withthem.

human-animal interaction and animal-assisted therapy
is based on the pragmatic standpoint of making positive

It is plainly obvious that the survival rates of cardiac

use of animals in human health. As was announced

disease patients differ significantly between thoseat the Stockholm conference, approximately 17% of

who have pets and those who don’t. And of course, pet

hospitals in Germany now have an AAT department

owners have better health results overall. In particular,

and 95% of medical professionals including generalsince dog owners go for walks with their dogs, they

practitioners recognize the efficacy of AAT. I myself

benefit from the exercise effect. Friedman made aconsider this efficacy to be a powerful fact that has notcomparison between dog owners and owners of otheryet been realized in Japan.

pet animals, but even those keeping animals other thandogs showed significantly higher survival rates thanSo, how has the subject of human-animal interaction

non-pet owners. This research is considered to be thebeen developing in Japan? The Society for the Study offundamental basis on which the study of human-animal

Human Animal Relations, or HARS, was established ininteraction rests.

1995. Currently, HARS and the Japan Animal Hospital
Association, or JAHA, are participating in the IAHAIO

J.M. Segal studied the relationship between owning a

as representative Japanese national members. In 2008,

dog and stress as measured by the average number ofa society called ‘Nihon Dobutsu Kaizai Kyoiku Ryoho

hospital visits people made. This research looked at

Gakkai’ was established in the same field, and this year

elderly people. Of course, when people get old, their

it was certified as an NPO. So the movement is gradually

physical functioning tends to deteriorate. In addition,

gaining ground. However, in the West, a movement thatmany older people become lonely after they are

was considering human-animal interaction seriously

separated from their spouse or their friends. On thishad already gained momentum by the 1980s. So simply

basis, elderly people can be divided into those facing

stated, regarding AAT and human-animal interaction,

many kinds of social stress and a group with low stress,

Japan is lagging behind the West by 15 or 20 years.

comprised of elderly people in general. When thesepeople are further classified into dog owners and non-At this point, I believe I should introduce you to

dog owners, we find a self-explanatory result which isanthrozoology, which serves as the basis for studying

illustrated by the average numbers of hospital visits

human-animal interaction. Yesterday, Dr. Rebecca

made by members of each group.

Johnson talked about this research field so there may
be some overlap between our accounts. But I intend toI have written that early prevention and healthgo into a great deal of detail.

maintenance are important ways of limiting increased
medical expenses that can be expected due to theThis slide shows the survival rates of patients withaging society. Even among the elderly, in the low-stresscardiac diseases following discharge from hospital.

group there is not a great difference in the hospital visit

This is a famous research paper by Friedman. In thefrequency between pet owners and non-pet owners, but

actual paper, a table of tests is shown. This shows thewhen elderly people are under very strong social stress,

results made into a figure, comparing pet owners with

the number of hospital visits made by pet owners is

non-pet owners. Furthermore, it compares owners who

significantly lower than the number made by those who

keep dogs with owners of other animals, and shows the

don’t keep pets.

survival rates of cardiac disease patients one year after
being discharged from hospital. Cardiac disease patients

This next slide shows the results of a survey into thetend to be physiologically weak. Even when only

emotional states of elderly women. The subjects of thisexperiencing mild stress levels their blood pressure

survey were classified by group into those who kept

can rise and put a burden on the heart sufficient to killpets and those who didn’t, and also into those who lived

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012231

with their families and those who lived alone. When

Now, let’s look at what kind of changes happen tothese groups were compared, the results that emerged

pet owners’ bodies as a result of keeping, or being inwere very clear. The group that kept pets reported acontact with, their animals as measured by the number

reduced feeling of loneliness, improved control overof hospital visits they make or the changes in healththeir emotional ups and downs, a greater capacity

problems they experience.

to see things optimistically, and less susceptibility to
becoming disturbed or unsettled.

The research shown in this slide was conductedby Anderson. These readings show the maximumThis is a similar piece of research. This survey classified(systolic) and a minimum (diastolic) pressure. Thesethe subjects into those who kept pets and those who

are the measures figures for plasma triglycerides,

didn’t, and compared their daily level of spiritual

which indicate the blood viscosity, and for plasma

elevation, daily problems, satisfaction with life, sensecholesterol. These are the figures for the male group.

of positive hope, etc. The results show that people who

The white ones are for the group that didn’t keep pets

associated with pets on a daily basis ranked higher

and the yellow ones are for the group that did keep

across the board.

pets. Among male pet owners, systolic blood pressure,plasma cholesterol and plasma triglycerides values

This next piece of research, by James Serpell, is very

were low. Among females up to the age of 39, thereinteresting. It looked at the relationship between thewasn’t much difference between those who kept a pet

incidence of health problems and pet dog and cat

and those who didn’t. But for women over 40, we canownership. The health problems examined included

see a clear difference in the values of these indicators.

minor headaches and stomachaches that happen on an
everyday basis. During the first month after a group of

At this point, stress becomes a keyword. What kinds ofpreviously non-pet owners acquired a pet, they reported

bodily reactions occur due to stress? When a person

a highly significant reduction in the occurrence offeels the effect a stressor, what kind of reaction does

minor health problems. Actually, the group thatthe nervous system produce? These are autonomic

acquired a cat showed a slight improvement over thereactions. On the right side is the hypothalamic-

first six months, but for the group that acquired a dog

pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) pathway, which

this improvement was maintained throughout the firsteventually leads to the secretion of that well-known

ten months. This research demonstrated that daily

hormone cortisol. Also involved are hormones such

health problems tend to decrease when people keep a

as cort icotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) andcat or a dog.

adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The nervous
system responds to stressors very quickly. The

All of this research says positive things about petmechanism is complicated. I teach this to students, butownership. But is this really the case? Just the otherit is difficult to get them to understand. Such a reaction

day, I read a book entitled Some We Love, Some We

occurs in response to such and such a stressor, forHate, Some we Eat by Harold Herzog. Maybe someexample, when you do some exercise, or when youof you have read it too. In that book, there are lots ofapply yourself to some task that is a little hard, suchreports concluding that animals have good effects on

as studying, or doing some chores that daily living

people both psychologically and physically. Also, there

requires. So it is better if you don’t think that it is bad

are a few reports stating that having pets doesn’t havefor these reactions to occur. Actually, it is necessary forany effect the health at all. In the book it also states thatthese reactions to take place on a daily basis.

the author asked Friedman, who I introduced earlier,

232“what effects do animals have on people?” Friedman

However, when this kind of thing happens continuously

answered, “animals certainly have a good effect onover a long period, cortisol tends to be secreted for apeople, but they are not a cure-all.”longer time in response to each new stressful incident,

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

and the sympathetic nervous system goes into a state

do feel healthier. And when a person feels healthier, theof protracted strain. This is the stress state.

number of hospital visits is lower as a matter of course.
This figure shows a chain linking dog-ownership with

Motooka’s research involved measuring the state ofowner health very clearly.

the parasympathetic nervous system by analyzing
the variability of the heart rate. This is because in

At this point, I am going to change the subject.

order to ease stress, we should pay attention to the

So far, I have been talking about various researchparasympathetic nervous system, which works infindings, but now I would like to tell you about theparallel with the sympathetic nervous system as part

IAHAIO 2007 Tokyo Declaration. It begins: “Given theof the autonomic nervous system. Heart rate variability

scientific and medical evidence proving the beneficial

analysis looks at the action of the autonomic nervous

effects to human health and well-being that arise

system in real time by analyzing the heart wave

from interactions with companion animals, given theinterval, which is the interval between successive R

biological and psychological evidence for the innate

waves. [An R wave is an upward deflection displayed onaffinity of humans to nature, including other living

an electrocardiogram (ECG).]

beings and natural settings,”

This is called the high frequency component, orFrom this standpoint it continues: “the members

HF. It is an indication of the work carried out byof the International Association of Human-Animal

the parasympathetic nervous system. For instance,

Interaction Organizations unanimously approved thewalking the dog enhances parasympathetic nervous

following resolution and guidelines for action at thesystem activity. The action of the system is much

IAHAIO General Assembly held on October 5, 2007

more pronounced when walking with a dog thanin Tokyo, Japan. It is a universal, natural and basic

when walking alone. When the parasympathetic

human right to benefit from the presence of animals.

nervous system is working actively it means that the

Acknowledgement of this right has consequences

sympathetic nervous system is in a relaxed state. Thisrequiring action in various spheres of legislation andslide shows that the effect produced by walking the dog

regulation. IAHAIO urges all international bodies anddaily becomes successively greater on the first, second

national and local governments...” And then it lists theand third days, etc. This is the result of comparing thefollowing stipulations.

parasympathetic nervous system in those who keep,
and those who don’t keep, a dog at home. As you can

The first stipulation is: “To enact housing regulations

see clearly, the action of the parasympathetic nervous

which allow the keeping of companion animals if theysystem is enhanced in those who keep a dog at home.

can be housed properly and cared for adequately,while respecting the interests of people not desiring

So far, we have looked at a variety of studies. Healy

direct contact with such animals.” This is followed

created a very convenient and very clear conceptual

by: “To promote access of specially selected anddiagram to show that dogs have a positive effect on

trained, healthy, and clean animals to medical carepeople’s health by considering the mental, physical andfacilities to participate in animal-assisted therapy and/psychological aspects of health, and he mapped out

or animal-assisted activities.” The third stipulation is:a health chain in dogs and their owners. Dog owners“To recognize persons and animals adequately trained

increase the amount of exercise they take, of course.

in and prepared for, animal-assisted therapy, animal-

And when their exercise increases, people can sleep

assisted activity and animal-assisted education,” andbetter. Their physical health improves, and this means

the fourth is: “To allow the presence of companion

they have a lower absentee rate from work. Moreover,animals in care/residential centers for people of any

one of the social effects of keeping a dog is that when

age who would benefit from that presence. The fifthpeople enjoys themselves with a familiar partner theyand final item on the list is: “To promote the inclusion

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012233

of companion animals in the school curricula according

can be achieved. As I wrote in my summary, Jamesthe ‘IAHAIO Rio Declaration on Pets in Schools’.”

Serpell has said that there have been relatively few

However, let’s consider the actual situation at present.

scientific studies on this subject. So this is a matter ofLet’s try to visualize it. Already five years have passed

some concern in Western countries as well.

since this declaration was issued but, so far, it seems
that not even one of these stipulations has been realized

In our approach, oxytocin came up as one of thecompletely. Despite such a clear and concise declaration

substances related to human health. Oxytocin is abeing issued there has been little progress. Although

hormone that, among other things, stimulates thethere is no doubt that things are moving forward little

production of breast milk, although men produce

by little, nothing significant has been achieved yet.

oxytocin as well as women. In mother-childrelationships oxytocin concentrations are observed to

Healy, who I mentioned a little earlier, carried out arise. Beyond its role in milk production oxytocin haslarge-scale survey on pet keeping and human health inlong been regarded as a mysterious hormone. Indeed,

three countries simultaneously, namely Australia, China

in recent years it has also been called the ‘happy

and Germany. The survey revealed that the number

hormone’. Several researchers have been studyingof annual hospital visits paid by pet owners was 15 to

oxytocin with the idea that it can serve as a measure of

20% less than the number of visits paid by people who

the positive relationship between people and their dogs.

don’t keep pets. When this is converted into health carecosts, pet ownership is estimated to save the equivalent

Let’s look at a concrete research paper and its results.

of 754.7 billion yen in Germany and 308.8 billion yen

In one experiment, 55 “pairs” each consisting of a dog

in Australia. This research is comparatively recent.

and its owner interacted in a room for 30 minutes.

In Japan too, given the advance of the aging society,

The oxytocin concentration in the owners’ urine wasrising health care costs are unavoidable. In this context,

measured both before and after the interaction period.

the positive effect of keeping animals as pets is worth

In the case of the 13 owners who reported that theirhighlighting.

relationship with their dog was good, the oxytocin
concentration rose significantly. Conversely, in the case

In Japan, research has become an important toolof the 42 owners who reported their relationship within the drive to expand the positive health effects of

their dog was not good, the oxytocin concentration incontact with animals as widely as possible and also totheir urine did not change. However, even among thisbroaden the spread of AAT, AAE and AAA. So I would

latter group of owners, when they practiced eye-contact

like now to consider the direction that this research istraining (a basic form of dog training) in some cases

taking in Japan. It starts from the point that the healththeir oxytocin concentration did increase.

effects animals bring to people have already been
demonstrated scientifically and it goes on to examine

Earlier, I said that we should adopt an approach tothis subject in more depth so as to discover in what

how we build good relationships between people andways animals affect human health. I think this is a very

animals. In this experiment, among the 55 dog owners,

important subject.

only 13 reported having a good relationship with
their dogs. That is about 23% of the total. We can’t say

We need to pursue more deeply the mechanisms byanything for certain because the experiment was only

which these various changes occur, and we need tocarried out with 55 dog owners. Still, I think we should

further our research into the significance of bettertake note of what the results suggest about people who

relationships between people and animals. Also it ishave good relationships with their dogs.

essential to conduct this research based on a scientific234

approach containing both quantitative and qualitative

Something else to which I have been paying attention isanalysis, and using methods by which reproducibility

brain activity measurement using NIRS (Near Infra-Red

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

Spectroscopy), a technique that Hitachi Ltd. has named

etc. I was studying the kinds of change that can be‘optical topography’. Optical topography systems areobserved in brain activity when the subjects touched agroundbreaking measurement devices that have beendog, looked at a dog, touched a cat, or looked at a cat,

attracting a lot of attention recently. They are capable

respectively. At this point, a dog or a cat was brought in.

of measuring the activity of the cerebral cortex, other

When the dog or cat appeared, just by seeing the dog,

parts of the brain, and changes in nerve activity.

this person’s brain activity went up this way. Then it
rose like this when they touched the dog. In the case ofOriginally, optical topography systems were huge andcats, the changes were even more significant. Someone’

expensive devices. But recently they have become quites brain activity went up by this much when they saw

compact and easy to use. It was difficult to employ thethe cat, and by this much when they touched the cat.

earlier optical topography systems for animal-relatedThis experiment was performed with only a small

experiments. This is the screen of the measurement

number of subjects, so we can’t conclude anything fromdevice. A band is first wrapped around the subject’

it unless we analyze the results in detail. However, thes head and then the waveforms from each brainchanges were observed for sure. But in the case of one

measurement site are shown on the screen. There are

person brain activity did actually decrease.

16 channels and 16 spots, in either blue or red, andthese waveforms are displayed for each measurement

I have been thinking about what it is about animals

site. Optical topography measures the changes inthat are good for human health and how, by using suchoxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin at each ofmonitoring devices, we can discover at what point andthese sites.

by what mechanism the effects of animals appear. I
have personally experienced using this device, and I

This is a video I recorded of an NHK Special

would like to show you what happened. Unfortunately,

documentary on the treatment of depression. The

it is rather difficult to see. Time is shown along thisprogram shows this device being used. Let us look at

axis. This is one minute. Changes in brain activity are

the video for a short while. (Video projection)

shown here. Now, it’s going up a little. I must have had
a thought about something. This is such a sensitive

As you saw, the subjects are provided with various

machine, so it is rather difficult to use. At this point, akinds of stimulation. For example, they can be asked

dog appeared. Let us look at a video as I issue various

to think about a word. They can be given a different

commands to the dog.

subject and the changes in their brain activity can be(Video projection)observed as they think about it. It can be used as one
index in depression testing. When a mentally healthy

This was a very good dog. He obeyed me well which

person undergoes this test while being monitored bypleased me. Look at this channel 7. You can see theoptical topography, the indications rise significantly

indication is up. I think it suggests that when a dog

when the subject is asked to think about one particularobeys my commands, or when communication with theword. But in the case of a depressed person thedog goes well, the indicator goes up.

indications do not rise very much. This is especiallyconspicuous in the case of the frontal lobes. I suppose

My guess is that, from these experiments, we can comethat since this particular experiment was shown on

to an understanding of what it is about human-dog

television, there might have been some exaggeration,interaction that most influences human brain activity.

but in the most advanced research quantification of the

It might be the ‘contact with’, ‘issuing commands to’,results may have progressed.

or simply ‘touching the animal’. Also, regarding mybackground, I am not a dog trainer and I don’t have

I carried out the following experiment personally. Theremuch experience with dogs. When people such as dog

were five subjects, represented here as Mr. A, Mr. B,

trainers who are used to handling animals took part in

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012235

this experiment, the changes in brain activity that wereobserved were not very large.
Here are the results of my experiment. You can see
this part rises in a vague way. But even though I only
underwent this experiment for one or two minutes, asignificant change is visible.
From this point, represented by the dotted line, the dog
appeared. This is the part where I am giving commands.
Channel 7 is this part. Seeing this alone, I think theexperiment is very interesting. I intend to continue thisresearch.
This is an overview of animals appearing in AI (artificial
intelligence) studies, based on a collection of study
results published over the past ten years. The results
show that, in the overwhelming majority of cases,
dogs were used. AI studies commonly use pet dogs as
subjects of study while ordinary dogs are used for AAT.
Not many cats appeared in these studies. I have also
looked at research published in Anthrozoös over the
past decade. Here too, dogs made up the overwhelming
majority of study subjects although there are a few
studies using dolphins and horses. Cats appeared rarely.
However, if we think paradoxically, we should consider
experiments using horses and cats as well.
This scene shows a compact optical topography system.
The device is placed on the subject’s back and the band
tied around the subject’s head. This is the point in the
middle of an experiment. The researchers are paying
attention to changes occurring in brain activity when
the subject gets onto a horse and how this change
differs from what is observed during interaction withother animals.
When I obtain new research results I would liketo report them to you. For now, that completes mypresentation. Thank you very much for your attention.

236

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

【Slide 1】【Slide 5】【Slide 2】【Slide 6】【Slide 3】【Slide 7】【Slide 4】【Slide 8】

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012

237

238

【Slide 9】【Slide 13】【Slide 10】【Slide 14】【Slide 11】【Slide 15】【Slide 12】【Slide 16】

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

【Slide 17】【Slide 21】【Slide 18】【Slide 22】【Slide 19】【Slide 23】【Slide 20】【Slide 24】

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012

239

240

【Slide 25】【Slide 29】【Slide 26】【Slide 30】【Slide 27】【Slide 31】【Slide 28】【Slide 32】

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

【Slide 33】【Slide 34】【Slide 35】

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012241

動物愛護法とイヌの福祉
The Animal Welfare Act and Dog Welfare
東京農業大学 農学部 教授／農林水産省 生物多様性戦略検討会 座長・林 良博

Yoshihiro HAYASHI, Veterinarian, Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture;
Chairperson, MAFF National Committee for Biodiversity Strategy

Today, I am going to talk about the Animal Welfareof the subcommittee was that so many members ofAct, or to give it its full name, the ‘Act on Welfare

the public wished to observe its meetings that accessand Management of Animals’, for which revision

had to be determined by drawing lots. Also, when therecommendations were submitted on December

subcommittee invited the public to make comments,

21, 2011. This law was previously subject to major

120,000 comments were received for the first half ofrevisions in 1999 (when its name was changed fromthe proceedings and 50,000 comments for the secondthe ‘Law Concerning the Protection and Control ofhalf. Although the MOE has a large number of councils

Animals’). In addition, a stipulation had been added thatand committees, no other committee has received so

the law was to be reviewed at five-yearly intervals. So

many comments.

it was revised again in 2006 when heated discussions
once again took place. This time around the plan is to

In this sense, we can accurately state that a great

present a bill with major revisions to the Diet in the

many people have taken an interest in the Animal

form of a “lawmaker-initiated bill” during 2012.

Welfare Act. We began our studies in connection withthe latest revision of the act in August 2010 and first

At the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) there is

attempted to assess awareness for the act. According

a council called the Central Environmental Council

to our survey, the ratio of respondents who knew thatand within this council is a section called the ‘Animal

the legislation existed was 67% and the ratio claiming

Welfare Section’. I am the chief of this section. At our

to know the content was 24%. So, while a great many

26th section meeting on July 15th 2010, we decided

people had comments about the proceedings, fromto set up a subcommittee to examine the rights andthe standpoint of the nation as a whole, the number ofwrongs about revisions to the Animal Welfare Actcomments was not very high. Nevertheless, the fact thatand to begin deliberations on the subject. As the

67% of the general public knew the name of the act

Central Environment Council is a large organizationshows that, even then, a considerable number of people

it was further agreed that anything decided at thewere taking an interest in its revision.

subcommittee level would be considered as a Section
decision. In turn, things decided at Section level would

In Japan, the ratios for spaying and neutering

be considered as having been decided by the Council.

operations are currently 42% for dogs and 83% for cats.

This put the subcommittee in a very important position.

This is a controversial matter, in particular because theAlso, the arrangements were to be set up in such arate for cats is quite high.

way that the Section Chief became the Chair of thesubcommittee.

Compared with four decades ago, the number of dogs
and cats abandoned and taken to local public health

So the subcommittee began work in August 2010

centers has declined significantly. Back in the 1970s,

and completed its first round of deliberations in

the number of abandoned dogs alone amounted to

December 2011. Within the space of 17 months, we

700,000 per year. Japan is the only country in theheld a total of 25 meetings. One extraordinary feature242

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

world to have reduced the number of abandoned dogs

such matters. Nevertheless, we have given someand cats to just a tenth of the 1970s level. The actual

consideration to the issues mentioned. For example, we

published figures depend on how the statistics are

conducted a questionnaire and carried out a review ofinterpreted. For example, in the U.S., between 800,000

standards. This is one of the merits of having legislationand 1.2 million cats are destroyed each year. Just as inreviewed every five years.

Japan, these are mainly kittens. As for dogs, according
to Dr. Benjamin L. Hart, probably 5 million dogs inNow, I will tell you briefly about what we discussed

the U.S. are abandoned by their owners and destroyed

during our first 25 meetings at the Central

every year. I think that Japanese people are somewhat

Environmental Council and what we submitted in our

averse to the idea of killing animals. However, in Japan,

report. Firstly, a major focus of our discussions was theeven today, over 200,000 cats are destroyed annually.

subject of animal handling businesses. Based on our

These are mainly kittens because a great many cats

discussions, we produced a report recommending thatgive birth to unwanted offspring. It is for this reason

late-night sales be prohibited. Essentially, we urgedthat I believe the Japanese people are becoming morethat the display and sale of puppies and kittens shouldaware of the need to spay or neuter their own pets.

be prohibited after 8 pm. But we decided it would beunrealistic to try to prohibit all animal-related activities

There is currently a debate going on about theafter 8 pm. As the Director of the Japan Kennel Club,advantages and disadvantages of issuing animals with

Nagamura-san, has said people of today are busy,

an official identification (IDs). From my point of view,

myself included. I come home at 11 pm after which I

IDs are necessary in order to give animals “citizenship”,

take my dog for a walk. If that sort of behavior were toor perhaps I should say they are necessary for instillingbe prohibited, it would be a very bad thing for dogs.

recognition that animals have a certain social status.
In any case, it is a major advance that the number ofConcerning this issue, our main question was, knowing

animals with an ID increased from 60,000 at the end ofthat there are buyers who visit pet shops while

2006 to 330,000 in 2010.

drunk, would it be acceptable to restrict the shopping
convenience to such people in order to reduce the

As a result of the revisions to the Animal Welfare Act instress placed on the animals, particularly where these

2006, the number of traders subject to the regulations

animals were young dogs and cats?

governing animal handling businesses has, as of 2010,
expanded dramatically and the number of registered

The same reasoning also applies to mobile retailers

facilities have increased 1.7 times.

(sales vans, etc.). In many of the more mountainous
regions of Japan where most of the local residents

Next, I’d like to talk about promoting appropriate

are elderly people, there are mobile shops that travel

treatment for experimental (laboratory) animals andaround selling daily goods. Because these shops help toindustrial (farm) animals. It is difficult for the MOE

support the lives of the elderly, these retailers should

to become involved in these two issues because thenot be subject to regulation per se. But because we

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) andsee no end to the examples of mobile retailers selling

the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andanimals in a way that negatively impacts the health andTechnology (MEXT) have jurisdiction over experimental

safety of these animals, the subcommittee reported thatanimals. Likewise, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries

some sort of regulation is required to deal with suchand Forestry (MAFF) has jurisdiction over industrial

cases.

animals. The prevailing attitude in officialdom is that
if there is a governing agency for a specific issue,

Another thing we looked at was ‘Internet Retailing’. The

we should leave all matters related to that issue

Internet is a very convenient method for people wanting

to the agency concerned and not attempt to touch

to buy an animal from excellent breeders located far

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012243

away. But in principle, pet sales not permitted except

Another reason is that there are six or seven guidewhen the selling is conducted face-to-face. The Internet

dog associations in Japan established as foundations,is a very good way to exchange information between

although the number of dogs managed by each ispeople located far away from each other. But it is not

not particularly large. Guide dog associations entrust

permissible for people to sell a pet animal without the

puppies to ordinary families (puppy workers) for abuyer seeing it first or without there being a face-to-certain period. When the dogs are returned, they selectface explanation about the animal being given to thethose they consider to have the aptitude to be a guidepurchaser.

dog and then train them up. In Japan, puppies areusually handed over to puppy workers at the age of 50

These days, the scale of the auction business has

days. This is just over seven weeks of age. If a minimal

become huge, so we also reported that it is necessary

legal limit of eight weeks of age were to be established,

to improve transparency and thoroughly disclose

these associations would have to delay the time they

information about auction markets.

hand over the puppies to the puppy workers.

A major task that had remained from the time of

In the National Diet, however, the Democratic Party

the previous revision was deciding the minimumof Japan is sticking with eight weeks of age, while theage at which puppies and kittens could be sold. Our

Komeito political party say that seven weeks is good, so

recommendations were based on debating how long

I don’t know how things will finally be decided. Therepuppies and kittens need to stay with their motheris also a possibility that the minimum age may differ

in order to experience sufficient maternal love andaccording to the breed of dog. The JKC recognizes

attention and obtain the initial education they needapproximately 150 breeds, and the development offrom their mother. We gave this discussion a very highpuppies does differ according to the breed. It would

priority.

be quite rough if we were to simply group all breeds
together and employ a common standard to cover them

There was quite a diversity of opinion on the issue. The

all. I think the best way would be to tentatively decide

thinking on the animal industry side, including the pet

on a general minimum age of seven weeks, then single

retailers, was that the minimum age should be 45 days.

out specific breeds for which a higher minimum age

At present, the industry is employing a self-regulated

is required. After that, before the next revision of theminimum age of 40 days and they believe 45 days is alaw five years from now, we should acquire scientificfigure they can aim at in the future.

data to provide a reason for raising the minimum age
to eight weeks and then revisit this issue at the time

Meanwhile, Dr. James Serpell, who was mentionedof the next revision. To decide to establish a minimum

earlier by Professor Uchiyama, has published accurate

age of eight weeks just because certain other countries

data resting on a scientific foundation suggesting thathave done so is not an appropriate way for a sovereign

seven weeks should be the minimum age for separating

nation to determine legislation.

puppies and kittens from their mothers. Also, within244

the developed world, there are some countries andRegarding limitations on breeding dogs and cats,states that use eight weeks as the minimum age. I don’an opinion was raised that for protecting breedingt know the rationale behind settling on eight weeks, but

dog health, stricter controls should be exercisedperhaps it has been implemented on an experimental

over irresponsible breeders who currently use highbasis. This issue has been passed down to us named

breeding frequencies and short breeding intervals. On

as “the eight weeks of age problem”. As chair of thethe other hand, another opinion was expressed that

subcommittee, I felt that seven weeks of age was

optimum breeding frequencies and intervals should

the best figure, because it was backed by a scientificdiffer according to the breed, because some breeds canrationale.

breed more frequently without problem while others

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012cannot. So it is difficult to regulate breeding in a single

The majority opinion was that it was more meaningful

uniform way. The subcommittee came to recognize

to discuss this issue as a hygiene issue than an animal

that we should leave breeding regulations unchanged

handling business issue. On the other hand, someand treat it as an animal welfare issue. Accordingly wemembers did argue that if Japanese pet owners were

decided not to submit any concrete proposals regarding

asked if it would be acceptable to dispose of their deadmaximum breeding frequencies at this time.

pet’s carcass in the same way as raw garbage, perhaps
90% of them would disagree. Obviously, people are

Another issue on which we were unable to set

emotionally attached to their pets in the same way

numerical values was the standardization of rearingthat they are attached to human family members. They

facilities. I will talk more about this later but, in order toremain so even after their pets have died. This being

guarantee the five freedoms for animals, it is importantthe case, rather than handling the carcasses as raw

that animals can move about freely and be free fromgarbage, the view was expressed that disposal should

hunger and thirst. To this end, breeding facilities need

be regulated under the Animal Welfare Act and theto be set up in a way that matches the requirements ofcompanies performing this disposal should be accepted

specific dog or cat breeds. We found this it difficult toas animal handling businesses. While holders of thismake a scientifically based judgment on this issue. So

opinion were in the minority this time, the argument

in its report the subcommittee recommended that an

may be brought up again in future.

expert committee comprised of specialists in ecology,
etc., should discuss the issue. I expect that the MOE will

Also, the opinion was voiced that amphibians and fish

establish such a committee.

should be added to the classes of animals coveredby the Animal Welfare Act. Currently, the act applies

Although the subcommittee was comprised of 16

only to mammals, birds and reptiles. Its scope does

members, these people came from a variety of othernot extend to amphibians, fish or invertebrates. Under

fields and most were not experts on the subject at issue.

the current legal situation, if somebody were to tearThat is why our report recommended that a specialist

a live frog limb from limb, they would not be liable tocommittee be established as a future task.

prosecution under the law. The subcommittee agreed
that it would be natural to include amphibians andOver the course of our work we examined a great manyfish under the scope of the Animal Welfare Act but the

points. Firstly, we studied the addition of other kinds ofmajority opinion was that it would be premature tobusiness. We received insistent appeals from operators

include these classes at present.

of animal carcass cremation and burial services who
told us they wanted to be registered as animal handling

However, there is the problem of many cases in whichbusinesses. Usually, businesses in most industries

amphibians and fish raised as pets are abandoned

dislike being registered. My impression was that the

because their owners are no longer able to take carereason why these operators also want to be registeredof them. As a result they live here and there in theas animal handling businesses is to be sociallywild as alien species. In particular, exotic freshwaterauthorized. However, Article 2 (Fundamental Principle)

fish proliferate in rivers and lakes across the countryof the Animal Welfare Act begins with the phrase, “In

causing environmental problems. During thelight of the fact that animals are living beings.” With

subcommittee meetings, the opinion was expressed that

this in mind, the majority of subcommittee members

traders in live amphibians and fish should be controlled

took a negative stance on the issue, believing that such

under the Animal Welfare Act in order to crack down

companies, although they do handle animal carcasses,on the situation. However, the majority opinion was

are unsuitable to be classified as animal handlingthat this issue should be discussed from the standpoint

businesses.

of biodiversity in Japan and the preservation of native
species rather than from an animal welfare standpoint.

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012245

So it should not be an issue to which the Animal

responsible for implementing the regulations could

Welfare Act is applied.

increase their staff numbers or budgets, but in thepresent financial climate, this would be difficult.

The issue of whether the Animal Welfare Act should be
extended to cover the raising of experimental animals

Accordingly, we believe that instead of pushing forwas subject to a lively debate in which the pros anduniform regulation across the board, it would be bettercons were hashed out. As I mentioned earlier, without

to use more flexible strategies to deal with highly

more sufficient time to discuss such issues in depth,

professional operations such as animal hospitals, zoos

this subcommittee cannot solve the problems related

and aquariums.

to experimental animals and industrial animals. Our
discussions remained bogged down on the pros andHowever, for some species, there are some things

cons behind the issues.

that must be more strictly explained. When importing
various species from overseas and selling them in Japan

Next, we talked about homes for old dogs and cats,as pets, it is necessary to increase the traceability ofwhich is another problem. It is younger women who

each individual animal with a clearly stated ‘country of

most frequently say that they would worry about their

origin’. Also, such animals sometimes need extra special

pet, and would want a pet care service to take overattention.

after they die. So they make arrangements to transfer
ownership of their animals while they are still alive.

There are some animals for which more detailed

But the operators of these facilities ask for significant

explanations are needed, but then again, does a species

amounts of money, and their industry is expanding

such as the Mongolian gerbil really need the same

rapidly. The subcommittee concluded that suchdegree of detailed explanation as a dog? Accordingly,

businesses should be subject to regulation as animal

explanations that differ according to the species orhandling businesses.

breed are required.

Moreover, animal welfare organizations frequently

Another item on the subcommittee’s agenda was thehandle live animals, as do organizations that find foster

increasing of penalties. Although penalties for various

families for animals, and carry out other activities. But

offenses under the act had already been raised during

although these organizations handle animals, we agreed

the previous revision, nobody was opposed to further

that they require a different response.

increases. In the old days, regardless of how bad theanimal abuse case, the maximum fine was 50,000 yen.

There are also vocational schools raising a large

This was the same level of penalty as a minor offense

number of dogs and cats for educational purposes rather

such as urinating in the street.

than for profit per se. If we include trimming schools,
there must be over one hundred such places in Japan.

Under the previous revision, the maximum fine for

We concluded that it is necessary to consider putting

abusing an animal was increased to 1 million yen and,these vocational schools into the same framework as

in addition, prison terms were introduced. However,businesses from the perspective of how the animals arewithin the Invasive Alien Species Act, which is under

treated under their roof.

MOE jurisdiction, the penalties for some offenses can
carry prison terms of up to three years and fines of up

On the other hand, ways to ease restrictions were also

to 3 million yen for individuals (or 100 million yen inon our agenda. Simply strengthening regulations may

the case of corporations).

only result in local government personnel becoming

246

too busy to the point of exhaustion. Of course, it would

It is noteworthy that more severe penalties werebe wonderful if the local government departments

instituted when the Food Sanitation Act was revised

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

recently. So I think it is possible that the penalties fordiscussed again in the future.

animal abuse will also be increased. In reality, a balanceshould be maintained between the penalties imposed

Concerning industrial animals, there was an opinion

under different laws. From the standpoints of boththat the five freedoms should be more clearly stated.

ordinary and legal commonsense, penalties related

However, the subcommittee concluded that, since theto animal welfare offenses should not be markedly

five freedoms apply not only to industrial animals

different or unreasonably low. While we were unsure ofbut to all animals kept by humans, it would be more

what result might be achievable, the subcommittee did

appropriate to clearly state the five freedoms as aagree that the penalties for these offenses should bephilosophy applied to animals as a whole.

increased.
With that, I complete my summary of the subcommittee’
It is difficult to apply such legislation to the handlings discussions on eight major tasks applicable to theof experimental animals or industrial animals. At therevision of the Animal Welfare Act.

previous revision, it was decided to adhere to the ‘3Rs’of ‘replacement, reduction and refinement’, thereby

Thank you very much for listening.

reducing the number of experiments that need to
employ animals. Instead alternative methods should be
used. Major pharmaceutical makers and the cosmetics
industry practice the 3Rs by installing councils tooversee the policy. At universities, there are medical andagricultural departments that have installed councils.
However, liberal arts faculties also occasionally perform
animal tests and some of these departments have notinstalled appropriate councils.
In addition, some food makers perform animal
tests, but it is difficult to grasp the extent. So on thesubcommittee, opinions were expressed that it would
be good to introduce a notification or registration
system.
In Japan the welfare of experimental animals is carriedout under a system of voluntary controls. But in manyother countries their welfare is evaluated by external
inspectors, etc. Among the subcommittee members two
opposing opinions were voiced. The first was that, as
there have been requests from universities and research
institutions that conduct animal experiments but whichmake efforts to observe the 3Rs, so we should respect
their efforts and maintain a wait and see attitude, atleast for the time being. The other opinion was that,whatever these institutions may say, it is generally
doubtful whether fairness can be guaranteed byvoluntary controls alone, and animal experimentation
cannot be treated as an exception. So this issue will be

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012

247

248

【Slide 1】【Slide 5】【Slide 2】【Slide 6】【Slide 3】【Slide 7】【Slide 4】【Slide 8】

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

【Slide 9】【Slide 10】【Slide 11】【Slide 12】

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012249

こころのワクチン
A Mind Vaccine
もみの木動物病院（神戸市）獣医師・村田 香織

Kaori MURATA, Veterinarian, Mominoki Animal Clinic, Kobe City

I am Kaori Murata, of the Mominoki Animal Clinic in

infectious disease prevention. We’ve all heard about a

Kobe City, and I am very happy to be here with you

lot of frightening infectious diseases that, once we aretoday.

infected there is a chance we may die, and in order tobe cured we may have to undergo a very long period

I’ve been listening to what everyone has been sayingof treatment. However, if we are inoculated against

over the past two days, and I have been very impressedsuch diseases in advance with a vaccine, we can beby all the passionate interest shown in the various

protected against the risk of infection. So, in order tosubjects under discussion. This is a really wonderfulprotect against dog problem behavior (and cat problem

conference, and I would like to express my gratitude tobehavior too), I attempt to build strong ties and good

Knots and to all the people involved with organizing therelationships between animals and their owners. This

event for their splendid efforts. Thank you very much.

kind of thing, which includes puppy and kitten training,can be called a “psychological vaccine”.

At Mominoki Animal Clinic, in addition to making
ordinary veterinary examinations, I have been involved

In the course of my work I constantly talk with pet

for many years in counseling about pet behavioral

owners, and I invariably tell them that if they areproblems, mostly concerning dogs but also including

keeping pets, they should follow three rules. The firstcats on occasion. In fact, a lot more people are troubled

rule is that owners should enjoy life with their pets.

by dog problem behavior than with cat problem

The second rule is that the pets should be happy. And

behavior. Today, we have listened to various stories

the third rule is that keeping pets should not cause

about the benefits of keeping pets, although nobody

trouble for the surrounding people. I ask pet owners

can know in advance whether living with a pet will

to follow these three rules. These are the activities ofbe good for their health. Perhaps surprisingly, it can

the Japanese Animal Hospital Association’s (JAHA)

become a constant worry or headache. In some cases

Companion Animal Partnership Program (CAPP).

pets are abandoned for precisely this reason, and in

Dr. Shibanai first started conducting these activities

other cases keeping pets may cause trouble for thein Japan about 20 years ago. These pets make theneighbors. Over many years, I have been tackling thesurrounding people happy rather than causing them

behavioral problems of adult dogs. Treatment can taketrouble. If pets can reach this stage, this is a very nicea great deal of effort and in a significant number ofway of curing them of bad behavior.

cases the animals cannot be cured completely. But inany event, treating them takes time and perseverance.

There are three steps we need to take in order to live

Comparatively speaking, it is much easier to prevent

happily by following these rules. Today, Mr. Nagamura,problem behavior from emerging by properly training

President of the Japan Kennel Club is here with us.

dogs when they are still puppies. This yields much

Following on from this morning’s talk about matching

more fruitful results with much less effort.

owners with pets, if you are going to choose a pedigree
dog, particularly in consideration of your own lifestyle

In a way, preventing problem behavior is similar to250

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

and living environment, the selection of the breed isenjoy interacting or playing with other members ofvery important.

their species. Even if that is too much to expect, it isstill greatly preferable if they can be trained to be at

To fulfill the second rule requires that we satisfy theease and relaxed around other dogs.

needs of our pets, including by feeding our dogs andcats suitable food, giving them sufficient exercise

There’s a saying about the future that ‘darkness isand opportunities for play. On top of this, I think it is

one step ahead’. Last year Japan experienced a major

essential to provide pets with education and training soearthquake disaster and for anyone like me who hasthat they can live happily in human society.

had a certain amount of life experience, this saying has
been engraved on our hearts many times. WheneverNow, it’s clear that there are many unhappy pets justsomething untoward happens, I recall this saying, andas there are unhappy owners, and also that many pet

pets, whose life spans are very short compared withowners struggle with all kinds of problem behavior.

ours, also have a variety of experiences during their

I think that the short cut to reducing such problems

lives. From the pets’ point of view, we humans are

relates to increasing the number of happy pets andsimply another species of animal. And while they live

owners bound together by strong mutual ties. Whatamong us in human society, they lack the means toanimal hospitals can do towards starting this off is toobtain the verbal information we enjoy. So if a dog’s

hold “puppy classes”. There are lots of other things welife is like a human life, the darkness really is one step

can do as well, but puppy classes are a good beginning.

ahead.

So that’s where we have started.
For example, in the case of communication between
Today we don’t have a lot of time so I can’t go into

people, if you say to your mother, “From tomorrow, I’

much detail, but I would like to talk simply about twoll be going away for a week on a short trip with mythings dogs learn together with their owners at thesefriend, OK?” your mother is unlikely to be worried. But

puppy classes. Puppies’ brains are extremely malleable

if you go away on a trip without your dog, as far as

and, with the right kind of training, they learn suitable

your dog is concerned, you have simply disappeared. A

behavior very rapidly. But they can also learn unsuitable

dog doesn’t know when its owner will return. There isbehavior just as easily. It seems that the owners andabsolutely no way that you can convey the information

dogs continue to build extremely good relationshipsof your return date to the dog. During the course

after the classes are finished. The owners who visit ourof their lifetime, perhaps well over ten years, dogs

hospital for disease prevention or treatment purposes

have to accept all kinds of change within their living

have built up very good relationships with their pets.

environment. In order for them to be able to accept

They look so happy together it makes me smile whenthese changes contentedly, it is vitally important that

I see them. I always feel it is very important to educate

they are properly educated when they are puppies.

puppies.
For instance, there may be times when their owner
Today I would like to talk in particular about two

has to go into hospital. And there are all kinds of otherof these practices. First of all, there is the matter ofreasons why a person may no longer be able to keepsocialization. For example, dogs should be able to enjoy

a dog. If this occurs, it is much better for a dog if itinteracting with people other than their owners. If the

can get on well with other dogs, animals and people.

dogs cannot achieve this then at least I would like to

Likewise, if it can live happily with a new family, or

see a situation where the dogs are OK and calm withwithin a group living at an evacuation center if needs

other people.

be. If a dog is unable to do this, it is likely to be very
unhappy if separated from its original owner.

Secondly is the matter of other dogs. Ideally dogs can

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012251

This is a photo showing the staff and animals at ourrecommends to get various people to give the dog its

hospital. If people and dogs (and in some cases cats)favorite food while it is still a puppy. This will increase

can get along well with each other like this, then theseits sense of security. In this way, you can prevent the

animals will be able to live safe and secure lives. This isproblems I mentioned earlier such as inappropriate

one of the chief aims of the education and training webarking at visitors. In puppy class, the participatinggive to puppies.

owners and staff practice feeding the puppies theirfavorite foods. We tell the participants to first open

These puppies have come to the hospital for counseling.

their hand, then place the food on their palm, then offer

Now I’d like to show you a video I took at my own

it to the puppy. Many people hold the food between thehome. It’s a video of some dogs that had not learned totips of two fingers which sometimes means the puppy

socialize properly.

will unintentionally bite the fingers as it takes the food.
This of course causes physical pain and fear to the(Explanation while showing video)

giver. So we ask our participants to use their palm.

We kept this dog for a while. The surrounding dogs are
my own and my staff’s dogs, and this dog is afraid of

By nature, dogs do not really like being patted on thethem. So it is being kept in a cage. It constantly exhibits

head, as most of you are probably aware. They aremenacing behavior to the others so they are barking in

especially uncomfortable if it happens without warning

turn, not because they are mean, but because they arefrom a person they are unfamiliar with. However,afraid. The other dogs are socialized animals so theypeople in general do like to touch dogs on the head. So

consider this dog to be a problem dog. Yet they don’t

if possible it is preferable, from the standpoint of thefight back against it or anything like that. They do havedogs’ future happiness within human society, if theya little trouble, but as such non-socialized dogs come toare trained using rewards to accept being patted on theus quite often, the socialized dogs are now more usedhead.

to this kind of thing. Dogs are animals that have an
extremely strong instinct for sociality so after several

If you have a dog that leans its head away because itdays living together they usually get along with eachdoesn’t like to be patted on the head, it can be trained

other very well.

to accept a pat by holding a reward in one hand andthen touching the dog’s head while allowing it to eat the

The dog on the opposite side is another dog that can’t

reward. This training can be carried out by a number ofdeal with other people. It is barking aggressively at thepeople in turn, such as veterinarians, veterinary nurses,

visitor but it had grown used to the surrounding dogs

etc.

by this time. This dog, a Border Collie, is barking at thisperson so we do give it a caution. But when the person

We also set aside time for communication between

backs away, the dog quickly follows after them. Dogs

dogs by making time for them to interact with eachthat are easily scared often seem to behave like that. An

other and for puppies to enjoy playing together.

easily scared dog will chase after a person moving awayfrom them but will then run away scared if the person

By giving puppies socialization training like thisre-approaches. This is not a bad dog by any means, it isconsciously, we can achieve a lot to make it easier for

only that it didn’t properly learn how to socialize withdogs to live comfortably in human society.

people as a puppy. It doesn’t know the ways in whichpeople and dogs communicate. We get consultations on

Everybody, I’ve got something now that I’d like tothis kind of thing a lot.

ask you to think about. Take a look at these two
photographs. Which do you think is the best photo

252

So, how can you make your dog act more friendly

from the standpoint of socialization? First, raise yourtowards other dogs and people? Puppy class first of all

hand if you think the photo on the left is best. Now,

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

raise your hand if you think the photo on the right isnot?” But I ask you to please consider such things when

the best. I see that more people think the one on the

you are trying to socialize your dog. Actually, a lot ofright is the best. This is a picture that would makepeople who come to us say such things as “I tried hardanyone smile—showing children with beaming faces as

to make my dog get on with other people, but the dog

they hug puppies. Here are the puppies and here arejust became afraid of them.”

our staff. These photos show puppies getting rewards
from the staff, and occasionally the staff members pass

Recently, so much information has become available

the rewards to children so that they can give them toand many more people are aware of the importance ofthe puppies.

dogs being socialized. However, some of them run into
trouble when trying to follow this trend. The reason isThis is the right way. Indeed, this way isthat, knowing of the need for socialization, the owner

overwhelmingly better. In my opinion, the photo on theand their dog may participate in a dog run to train theright side shows that it is best not to do this training

dog to be unafraid of other dogs. But this experience intoo suddenly. Humans are animals that only hold small

itself can result in the dog coming to dislike other dogs.

children in the course of raising them. They also like

Another problem, as encountered by many owners

to hold stuffed animal toys and small live animals. So

and dogs, is that an owner may let their dog be petted

these children enjoy holding puppies. However, fromby many other people in an attempt to socialize them.

the puppies’ standpoint children are strangers who are

Instead the dog may start growling. So when owners domuch bigger than them as well as being monster-like

attempt to socialize their dogs, they have to do it right.

in their behavior. Some are very loud and some treat
animals roughly. In most cases, to be lifted into the

If any of you have dogs that will not accept rewards

arms of such children is a terrifying experience for a

from anyone other yourself, please visit us for

puppy.

consultation. If you let other people touch your dog
without proper knowledge, the results could be

So, don’t pick up the animals. But how about reward-

counterproductive.

giving? Getting treats is a pleasant experience for dogs,
of course. In this photo, first, the staff member tells

This photograph shows our dogs in contact withthe child that the dog is allowed to eat the reward,

children. As I told you earlier, most dogs don’t like toconfirming also whether the dog should eat it when thebe surrounded by a group of children or by children

reward is handed or after being held by the child. It iswith loud voices wanting to pick them up. In the caseimportant to do things in this order.

of large dogs bigger than the children, this is usuallyOK, but small dogs and puppies generally don’t like to

I often explain it to pet owners as follows; whenbe treated this way. Whatever the case, I urge everyone

somebody moves in next door, if they say “nice to meetto ensure that the contact between dogs and children

you… this is just a small token” and bring you a present

is a pleasant experience for both sides. For instance, ifof something nice to eat, you are likely to be pleased

you let a child give your dog a reward, check how he orwith them.

she is reacting. You can also let dogs demonstrate any
special tricks they know, or let children play with them

Conversely, if the people moving in next door comewith the help of a toy.

up to you and touch you without warning, you willprobably not like it at all. In a similar way, a puppy

These photos show our dogs enjoying contact withwill regard a pat on the head or a food present from achildren. Here the dogs are performing. This is fun for

stranger as very different things.

them, and for the children, because they get a reward.
So our dogs love children. But if this play ends up like

From a human standpoint, some may wonder “whythe example I showed you earlier, there might be the

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012

253

opposite effect, so please be careful when trying thiswould really hate it. I have had many cases where

out yourself.

owners cannot stand the idea of their pet being undersuch heavy stress. So they hesitate to bring the animal

It is ideal if puppies have the opportunity to attend ato the vet and let matters rest until the animal develops“puppy kindergarten”. This is our puppy kindergarten.

a more serious condition.

Recently, the number of such facilities has been
increasing and they can be very effective if run on

The main reason why dogs can become aggressive

the basis that they exist to provide various kinds of

isn’t that they are spoiled or that they think they arecontact opportunity. If you have a puppy that can’t

superior to others, as is often said, but simply because

socialize with other dogs, or a puppy that has excess

they are scared. First, a dog’s trusted owner suddenly

energy, I recommend you to take it along to a puppy

takes it to an unfamiliar place, where a person dressedkindergarten.

in white pushes it down on a table and places astethoscope on its chest. The dog has no idea why thisAnother purpose of puppy class is to help dogs become

is being done. It’s the same with an otoscope. The dog

accustomed to being examined and remain calm. Most

doesn’t understand what it is. Then, right after that theydogs don’t like going to an animal hospital. Now, I will

are likely to experience some painful procedure. It isshow you a video about some dogs that have visited our

only natural that some dogs become aggressive in these

hospital.

circumstances due to fear and insecurity.

(Explanation while showing video)

I talk in various forums, so some of you may alreadyThis dog is so angry that we can’t get it onto thehave heard what I am going to say next. About ten

examination table. They use an “Elizabethan” collar andyears ago, I learned a lot from the experience of one of

make every effort but the vet and nursing staff cannot

my patients, a Golden Retriever. This dog, a bitch, came

get it up onto the table. Even the owner is unable to put

to our place for counseling because she had a problem.

the dog onto the table by carrying it. Although we tried

She would growl or become aggressive whenever

hard, we didn’t succeed in getting this dog onto theunfamiliar people or dogs came too close. The reason

examination table. So you can see how tough our job

was that she had been entrusted to a breeder to be bredcan be.

from. Her behavior had become like that after the timeat the breeders. We knew this because she had neverThis next one is the same. We have to muzzle this

acted like this prior to that time. So we know that she

dog because it bites. But things don’t go smoothly.

must have had a very traumatic experience while she

Nowadays we tell owners to first get their dog used to

was at the breeder’s.

wearing a muzzle and then bring it to the hospital. Thatway we can avoid this kind of trouble.

Of course, the underlying problem was that this dog
had not been sufficiently socialized. I felt a lot of anger

The dog at the bottom is an in-patient. Whenever I

toward the breeder with thoughts that the breeder must

tried to open the door before treatment, the dog would

have done something bad, although I didn’t know what

get angry like this. If things remained as they were, I

it was. As a result the quality of life for the dog and also

would not be able to make a thorough examination. As

her owner was severely eroded.

was mentioned earlier, when a dog is under long-term

254

stress its immune function can be compromised and it

But then I had a sudden “aha” moment and the scales,

loses its appetite. This undermines the effectiveness ofas they say, fell from my eyes. I realized that we mustthe medical care we provide. Moreover, I think it is very

be doing the same thing at our hospital. Working

hard for an owner to watch while their pet is placed

as a veterinarian, although what we were doing wasunder this much stress. If I were in that situation, I

ordinary veterinary medical practice, we were also

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

causing trauma to our animal patients.

stitches removal after spaying surgery. I was careful
not to turn the patient over suddenly and remove theActually, quite a few pet dogs are brought to us forstitches. Instead, I took a little time to give the dog acounseling because they begin to behave aggressively

treat which only took 30 seconds or so. These dogs

as a result of their experiences while being treated at

don’t like to be handled quickly or roughly.

the animal hospital. For example, there was a Border
Collie that suffered bleeding when it had its nails cut

This dog has come to a standstill in front of our hospitalin hospital. Ever since, this dog had become aggressive

during a walk because it actually wants to go into theso the owner brought it in for counseling. The dog

hospital. The owner had only been taking it for a walkshown here is a male Labrador Retriever puppy. He had

and passing by the hospital, but the dog is determined

been neutered but when it came to the time for the vet

to go inside. So I told them they had better come inremoved the stitches he became violent. He would not

and let me at least weigh the dog. That is how muchturn over, so had to be overpowered and held down

the dog wanted to come inside. Conversely, in the oldby several male vets. Since that time, this dog woulddays, owners would often tell us how their dog would

habitually attack whenever he saw unknown males. He

freeze when arriving near the hospital and realizing

was brought to us for counseling too.

that this was the destination. Such dogs would even try
to go home, so it was hard work just to get them into

Dogs can’t understand what we do in the course of

the hospital building. Nowadays we have the opposite

medical practice. They interpret any kind of physicalsituation with the dogs so eager to come in that theirdiscomfort we cause them as abuse. In many cases theowners have to stop them. I’m glad to see this change.

medical treatment itself is experienced as a form ofabuse by the dogs. I now realize that, depending on how

This dog has moved away, but I received a New Year’

we treat our canine patients, we may well be inflictings card from the owner. The message on the card said,

trauma on them.

“I feel sorry for Kei-chan (the dog’s name) because she
can’t visit your hospital any more.” It made me happy to

To prevent this, it is very important to establish athink that the hospital is loved so much.

positive environment before we do anything that a dog
may find unpleasant. To experience such a positive

This is a dog that graduated from our puppy class. He

environment, it can be very effective for a young dog

is visiting the hospital to make a blood donation. The

if they attend puppy classes first. While there they

dog thinks the hospital is a pleasant place, so he is well

can spend time pleasantly with the staff of the animal

behaved as we collect the blood. Owners would not findhospital. Next, I will show you how delightfully dogs

it acceptable if we had to collect blood by putting theirvisit our hospital.

dog under anesthetic or forcefully holding it down.
They would be less likely to allow their dog to donate(Explanation while showing video)

blood for the benefit of some other dog. But in this case

I was very glad to see this dog come to our hospital

we have won the owner’s full cooperation because thewith such evident pleasure. Since we don’t have a lot ofdog visits the hospital so happily.

time, I’ll skip through this quickly. This dog also cameto visit us very happily. In the case of Japanese dogs,

So far, I have talked about the desirability of socializing

unless they attend puppy classes regularly, they arepets and getting them used to visiting an animal

liable to grow up as ‘hospital haters’. This puppy is a

hospital. Another important thing I would like to bring

Rottweiler and, as you can see, it voluntarily goes up

to your attention is ‘handling’. By this I refer to training

onto the examination table. With the English Sheepdog

pets so that the owner and the vet can touch the animal

I showed you earlier, we had to try very hard just to

anywhere. People should train their pets so that it can

get it on the examination table. This dog came in for

accept necessary care. This is also a very important

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012255

consideration.

brought along to the hospital. The dog has alreadydeveloped quite severe periodontal disease. It is aThis shows the English Sheepdog puppy introduced

little difficult to see in this picture but this part here isearlier undergoing sedation. The dog had slipped on aa tumor. The owner had discovered it the day before

wooden floor and hurt its leg. As it needs to undergo

and brought the dog to the hospital. In the case of thean x-ray we have to sedate it in order to keep it still.

Japanese shiba dog breed, this part is not normally

The hair on the soles of its feet had grown long whichnoticeable in healthy individuals. So unless the owneris why it had slipped. But because the owner had been

regularly touches their dog or checks its tummy

unable to touch the dog’s feet, they had been unable toby turning the animal over, a disease may remain

cut the hair.

unnoticed until it develops to the stage shown here.
Accordingly, in order to detect a disease at an early

Here, we are cutting the dog’s nails. With this dog, evenstage, it is very important that owner and dog have time

nail cutting requires sedation. The dog’s ear had also

for real contact which should include touching the dog’

become inflamed with Otitis exterma due to a fungals body and various forms of care.

infection but the owner had not even been able toapply eardrops at home. If a dog gets into such a state,

Unfortunately, in the case of the previous dog, theboth the owner and the dog are bound to be distressed.

cancer had already spread to other parts of its body.

According to the owner, when the dog was small, theyThe question is, in order to make the early detection

had been able to do anything to the dog. The ownerof disease easier, how can we train dogs to allow

had forcefully carried out ear cleaning, nail cutting, etc.,

people to touch them more thoroughly? This is actuallyeven when the dog disliked them.

unexpectedly easy to accomplish. So I would like puppy
owners to try it. And even if you have an adult dog, you

It is obvious that if an owner forcefully does certain

can still train them if you take a bit of time. The method

things to a dog when it is a puppy, which it finds

I often use in puppy class is to use dry food. Generalunpleasant, it is more than likely to challenge its owner

nutritional food is OK. You should practice touchingwhen it grows bigger. It may even start threatening

your dog’s body while giving it dry food. The dog ispeople who attempt to do these things. After a dog

concentrating mostly on the food so does not mind

learns that it can protect itself by showing its teeth andbeing touched at the same time. In this way, the dog

growling, it may habitually bite people when placed

gets used to being touched. The next step is to deliver

in an unpleasant situation. So we shouldn’t encourage

the food after the touch and with practice you will bedogs to learn to do that sort of thing.

able to touch the dog anywhere.

That is why it is important not to do things forcefully.

Here, an owner is using food as a reward after touching

Instead we must gently accustom dogs to accept things

the dog. Many dogs dislike having their ears, eyes, tailwhile they are still puppies so that they learn to accept

or feet touched. But if you practice, it is very easy to

the daily care they will need as pets.

condition the dog to allow you to touch in these places.
This method is introduced in detail in my book A Mind

This dog has come in for dental scaling. Because it

Vaccine. Please read it if you are interested.

would turn angry when anybody touched its mouth theowner had been unable to brush its teeth. So we had toFirst, practice touching the dog, and then provide theput it under anesthetic, at which time we noticed that it

dog with food. In this way, the dog won’t care about

had a tumor.

being touched at all. During handling, touch the dog’s body to let them get used to being touched. Do this,256

This dog is a similar case. The owner couldn’t touch

not by forcefully holding them down, but by pleasantly

its mouth, but it was losing its appetite and so it was

and gently associating touch with their favorite things.

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

This is an effective way for you to train your dog formouth of their pet, it can make an enormous difference.

handling.

Simply doing this can enable them to discover ifanything abnormal is going on at an early stage.

This dog has developed periodontal disease. The ownerhadn’t noticed the problem yet even though it had

This puppy was forced to submit to having its teeth

reached this stage because the owner never touches thebrushed by its owner, with the result that it became likedog. By contrast, this dog has clean teeth. Do you know

this. To avoid having your pet become like this, practicewhat percentage of dogs and cats over three years

touching the pet’s mouth using food. In order to brushof age have periodontal disease? How many people

the teeth, you will need to pull back the animal’s lips,

think it’s 50%? I’m sure you already know this, but it’ssomething which needs to be practiced properly. Whenactually about 80% or more. Unless pets receive proper

the pet begins to allow you to do this with ease, youdental care, we can consider that almost all dogs andcan start using the toothbrush for the first time. Pay

cats will develop periodontal disease.

close attention to this. Limit the time you apply the
toothbrush to the teeth to just one second. Don’t scrub

Periodontal disease is not only a problem for the mouth

the teeth suddenly. Brush for just a second. Then givearea. The bacteria causing the disease also spread via

the animal a reward. If you try to brush the pet’s teeth

the bloodstream. These can have a variety of negative

insistently, the pet will hate it. So perform brushingconsequences for the internal organs including thelittle by little and associate the brushing with a reward.

liver, heart and lungs, as well as on the joints. So, andDon’t keep brushing for a long time.

this applies to people as well, periodontal diseaseaffects much more than just the teeth. This is why

Next, this video shows animals that will consent todental care is very important. How many of you here

being brushed more. These are our own dogs. They look

today keep a dog as a pet? Please raise your hands. And

like they enjoy having their teeth brushed very much.

how many of you brush your dog’s teeth? Thank you. I’

If your pet tries to run away when it sees a toothbrush,m happy that so many of you are doing this. Brushing

you are brushing in the wrong way. It is very importantyour pet’s teeth is also a good way of helping preventfor pet owners to perform tooth brushing in a way

zoonotic infections, which we have been hearing a lotthat their pets accept happily. If the pets can accept

about at this conference.

it happily, then tooth brushing becomes a peacefulexperience for the owners too. Owners should not

In our profession we cannot avoid being bitten by dogs

let tooth brushing become an occasion for fighting.

or cats from time to time. But if we are bitten by an

Although I am very busy, I love this time. When I brushanimal which has periodontal disease we may develop

an animal’s teeth, I become calm, relaxed and happy.

a fever and the area around the wound can swell up.

Perhaps the oxytocin is flowing.

This is because large numbers of bacteria live on the
animals’ teeth and gums. So please try to give your pet

If we practice little by little, anybody can brush anproper dental care. However, even the owners who areanimal’s teeth. Perhaps those of you who put youraware of the importance of dental care often find thathands up when I asked if you brushed your pets’ teeth

their pet will not allow them to brush their teeth. But if

are enjoying this activity, and your pets are enjoying

the owner can get the pet used to teeth-brushing fromit too. Neither owners nor pets can continue doing

the time when they are a puppy or kitten, then mostsomething indefinitely if they don’t enjoy it.

pets will consent.
Although this video only last for two minutes, I actually
It is not an easy thing to brush an animal’s teeth

perform tooth brushing for approximately five minutes.

perfectly. It is a technique that requires continuous

This is our puppy kindergarten. Our staff are telling thetraining. If the owner can at least take a look inside thedogs that they are about to get their teeth brushed. The

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012257

dogs look as happy as if they were going to be given
food. This is how it should be when dogs are shown atoothbrush. The dogs are eagerly awaiting their turn for
the treatment, as if to say, “My turn! My turn!” That’s
because they find brushing to be a pleasant experience.
This is my dog getting its teeth brushed by mydaughter. The dog is completely relaxed. It is not goodwhen a dog doesn’t trust its owner. But when there is a
total relationship of trust between owner and pet, thepet can relax. In that way, the time they spend together
will be a comfortable time for the dog and a happy time
for the owner. So it is extremely important to establish
a relationship of trust between owner and pet.
This is the final picture for today. These are my pets.
As I said regarding socialization, by giving pets theexperience of contact with other animals and people
while they are still puppies or kittens, we can help bothpeople and pets live together in a friendly atmospherelike this. So, while it is still a puppy or kitten, please
give your pet the education it needs. That way it canlive happily within human society. Or, in other words,
give your pet a mind vaccine.
Thank you very much for listening.

258

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

【Slide 1】【Slide 5】【Slide 2】【Slide 6】【Slide 3】【Slide 7】【Slide 4】

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012

259

260

【Slide 8】【Slide 12】【Slide 9】【Slide 13】【Slide 10】【Slide 14】【Slide 11】【Slide 15】

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

【Slide 16】【Slide 20】【Slide 17】【Slide 21】【Slide 18】【Slide 22】【Slide 19】

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012261

【Slide 23】【Slide 24】【Slide 25】【Slide 26】262

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

ペットから学んだ異文化
Learning About Other Cultures from Pets
マースジャパン リミテッド 副社長・石山 恒

Hisashi ISHIYAMA, Vice President,
Mars Japan Limited

Hello everybody. For the next 30 minutes, I would like

continuously expanding up to now, and we consider

to talk about pets from a somewhat different point of

it to be a trend that will continue for the foreseeable

view to that of today’s other speakers.

future. For example, in the United States, about 170
million pet dogs and cats are now being kept, and thisI have been working in the pet food industry for thenumber is continuing to increase.

past 30 years. The company I currently work for sells
a huge amount of pet food all over the world. Over the

On this map, the locations marked in red represent

course of these 30 years I have attended numerous

the places I have visited on business trips, and those

conferences around the world and I paid repeatedmarked in blue represent the places I have lived duringvisits to approximately 30 countries to attend productthe course of my work. The reason why I have beendevelopment meetings. In the course of my travels I

running around the world so much is that the pet foodhave met a great number of people and had countless

industry has become enormous. The industry started

opportunities to see how people relate to their pets inover a century ago in the United States and over 80

different ways and in different places.

years ago in Europe. In Japan, it began to develop about
40 years ago.

These days, in many countries that were not previously
among the pet food industry’s target markets, as

As in any business, when a company tries to develop

average incomes have risen and more people havea new market, the usual method is to introduce

begun to keep pets, a growing number of animals areproducts that have already been successful in existing

being kept as pets. So the size of the pet food market

large markets. I think major representative Japaneseis expanding. Countries such as Russia and China havecompanies such as Sony and Toyota operate in this way.

not yet grown into such large pet food markets, butThis is an easy method when dealing with functionalas their national income levels rise, they will become

products. But in the case of some products, such as pethuge markets. Anticipating the future value of such

foods, which combine functional and cultural attributes,

markets, my company is now selling pet food in overa number of things can occur that impede cultural

100 countries and producing pet food at 62 factories

transfer.

dotted around the globe. Each year worldwide - mainlyin America, Asia and Europe - we sell a total of about

In the figure shown here, the items along the axis on

ten times the volume of pet food that the Japanese pet

the right are products sold according to their function

food industry sells

without much consideration to cultural differences.
Examples of such products include cars, watches andOverall, in retail price terms, the world pet food market

cameras. In the case of cars, there are some slight

is worth approximately 7 trillion yen. According todifferences and functionally modifications for use inresearch conducted by my company, the total number

countries with left-hand or right-hand drive trafficof dogs or cats kept by people is estimated at aboutsystems and to meet the requirements of various other

700 million worldwide. These numbers have been

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012263

national laws. And where consumer tastes differ fromtraditionally been given to pets in a given country andcountry to country, product design may be varied to

the way pets have lived there have a major influence onreflect these differences. But even so, the structural

pet food design.

parts of cars do not change very much.
In this next figure, the bottom axis is a chronologicalHowever, pet food is a product that belongs squarely

record, showing how long it takes for pet food toon the left side of the figure. The bottom of the left

provide the necessary calories to maintain a dog or cat’side is set at zero and the top at 100, so you can sees life. The United States is at the top. Pet food was putthat culture exerts a considerable influence over pet

on sale first in the US and then introduced into the UK,

food. For instance, many Japanese people tend to keep

and the last of the second group of countries where it

small dogs. From a global perspective, both the overall

was introduced were Germany and France. This figure

numbers and the ratio of very small dogs kept in Japanshows that pet food consumption spread rapidly once

are high. The kind of food that dogs prefer to eat does

the products and communication methods improved.

not differ very much from country to country, but
this isn’t the case with cats. For example, in Germany

The horizontal axis bar shows how long it took toapproximately 80% of cats prefer to eat meat, but inreach the same level of calorie adequacy in different

Japan the corresponding ratio is less than 5%. There

countries. The figure shows that the newer the market,

is a tendency for people to choose food for their pets

the faster pet food popularization occurred in line withbased on what has been given to similar animals in

improved products and communication methods. For

their country traditionally, and also based on theexample, communication with consumers was originallycommon idea that food nutritious enough for people

conducted via magazines and the radio. In the 1950s,

must be sufficiently nutritious for pets too. Likewise,

the first television advertisements were aired. This led

each country’s culinary culture is reflected in the design

to a dramatic leap forward in the effectiveness of petof its pet food.

food advertising.

In Western-style meals, meat is considered to be theIn order to transfer successful cases into new markets,

central item, but in Japanese-style meals, vegetables

we generally translate the stories of how the pet

and fish generally play this role. So although the wild

food became popular with consumers in successful

ancestors of dogs and cats would not have eaten

countries. The stories are used in the new countries. In

vegetables at all, in Japanese pet food, both dog foodthis translation process, what methods of persuasion

and cat food contains vegetables. However, cats would

do we have to include? We try to differentiate thenever eat vegetables on their own initiative, and if the

product itself from the alternatives, explain the benefits

carbohydrate content of the food was too high, they

it offers and why the product provides these benefits. I

would not be able to digest it. In ways such as this, apersonally had a lot of difficulty carrying out this task

country’s culinary culture has a large influence on thein the Japanese language.

design of its pet food.
This was because the Japanese language doesn’t have

264

When I put vegetables into pet food for the first timea wide range of comparative adjectives or verbs. In

in 1987, the president of our US headquarters, who

English, it is easy to say “good”, “better”, and “best”, or

was on a visit to Japan, asked me, “When was the last“strong”, “stronger” and “strongest”. But in Japanese,time you saw a dog walking into the garden to eat the

we can only really say “better” and “stronger”. So in

vegetables?” Then I replied, “No, I’ve never seen a dog

Japanese, there is no practical method of comparison

go into a vegetable patch, but nor have I ever seen aapart from to modify nouns by attaching an adjective

cat go into a pond, swim around and catch a fish. But

or adverb. In the case of verbs too, there are no

95% of cats in Japan love fish.” The foods that havecomparatives. In Japanese, we rarely make use of

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

comparative expressions and there are few absoluteteam sports in which each player’s role is clear. On theexpressions either. The Japanese language has plenty

other hand, most Japanese sports are undertaken aloneof static expressions, but is relatively poor in terms ofor else one-on-one and there is a strong emphasis on

dynamic expressions.

harmony and coordination. Among hunting people,
there is usually a person who takes a leadership role.

I was bothered about where this difference in

Often this leader makes the decisions and his or her

expressive style came from, and it took me three years

subordinates follow them. In Western countries, when

before I came to a satisfactory conclusion. Therea company is recruiting new employees, the company

are very few books in Japan that mention this sortalways tests candidates on their leadership qualities. Itof subject. The only one I could find was a book on

is generally considered that those lacking leadershipthe subject of comparative pet cultures, written byqualities are inferior. I conclude that the differences

Giichi Kamo, a former president of Otaru University of

between Japanese and Westerners stem largely from

Commerce. I couldn’t find anything else. There weresuch differences in culture and in the process of social

no books by Westerners who study the Japanese.

development.

Accordingly, I decided to find out for myself why thisdifference existed. So whenever I had a chance to make

Just now, I mentioned rice cultivation. At that time,a business trip to Europe, I made a point of visiting the

I showed a figure. When one plants rice, if it takes amuseums and art galleries in that place.

month for a person to plant an entire field moving fromthe left side to the right, it will be difficult to judge

If you visit art galleries in particular, and you view

when the time is ripe to harvest at the various parts ofpictures of members of the aristocracy painted in

the crop field. But if everybody plants a single paddy

the eighteenth century, you will almost always findfield of rice together, then they at least know that thea realistically painted dog standing or sitting at thecorrect harvesting time for all the rice will be the same.

subject’s feet. However, if we look at traditional
Japanese ukiyo-e illustrations or hunting scenes,

I thought that the differences between how people

we very rarely come across depictions of dogs. Andin various countries treat cats and dogs have comeeven when dogs do appear, they are never drawn in

about through culture and history. For this reason, 27

realistic proportions as they are in Western painting.

or 28 years ago, I concluded that the Japanese do not

This led me to think more about whether differences

necessarily have to follow the Western style in theirin the development of Western countries and Japan

treatment of these pets.

contributed to this result, or whether it was due tomore fundamental differences between hunting peoples

For hunting people, it is important to know what kinds

and agricultural peoples.

of animals are moving at what times, and it is necessary
to formulate clear instructions about the roles andWhen I thought about this more deeply, I noticed that

responsibilities of each member of the team. Also,

agricultural people tend to mostly work alone. Almost

working dogs are necessary. But in Japan, throughout

the only time they work in groups is when they are

the country’s long history, people have rarely needed

planting rice. On the other hand, hunting people workdogs in the course of their everyday lives. As an

mostly as a team. In the hunting lifestyle, at certain

exception to this general statement, dogs were used

times of the year, certain animals pass through certainby hunting communities in places such as Tohoku,

places, and if the hunters do not work as a team, they

and also by the Ainu in Hokkaido. I think much thewould not be able to survive the winter. They would diesame can also be said of the rest of Asia. A look at thefrom hunger due to food shortage. If you think about

different breeds of dog serves to illustrate this point.

it, many Western sports that come from Northern

Currently, 389 dog breeds are approved by the FCIEurope are team sports. Both soccer and rugby are

and almost all of these breeds originated in Europe.

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012265

By contrast, almost all native Japanese dogs are close

culture has developed, the original role for dogs has

relatives of the Shiba, which is hardly a special breed.

mostly disappeared and the relationship between dog

These facts tend to support my theory.

owner and dog has changed accordingly.

Western people are very precise in their thinking,Also, 30 years ago, purebred dogs accounted for about

especially about the roles played by organizations

40% of pet dogs and the rest were mongrels. Theseand about responsibilities and instructions. They aredays over 70% of pet dogs are purebred.

generally much better at organizing things than weJapanese are.

Let me tell you another interesting thing. Comparedwith pet owners in Western countries, Japanese pet

In addition, over the past 30 years, perceptions toward

owners try harder to maintain the health of their dogs

animals have changed greatly in Japan, which meansand cats. On the average, Japanese pet owners takethere has been a considerable shift in the relationships

their animals to a veterinarian for a health examination

between people and dogs and cats. At the start of the

4.6 times per year. In the US, the corresponding figure

1980s, there were about 4.7 million dogs kept in Japan.

is 2.1 times per year. These days, at least 91% of

At present, there are more than 10 million. So there has

Japanese pet owners visit a vet at least once a year,

been an enormous increase in numbers over the past

whereas as recently as 30 years ago the rate was 45%.

25 years.

In the US, the number of owners who take their pet tothe vet at least once a year is 81%. Accordingly, based

In the 1980s, the main reasons given by Japaneseon this data, we can say that compared with pet owners

pet owners for buying pet food were price, taste andin other countries, Japanese owners tend to have thenutrition. Since then, their reasons for purchasingclosest relationships with their dogs as family members.

have changed greatly. This figure shows along thevertical access how ordinary pet owners regard theirThis figure shows the results of two surveys that wererelationship with their dog, for instance, as a family

conducted using the same methodology. The firstmember, as a pet, or just an animal. In the old days,

was carried out 30 years ago and the second one twomost dogs were kept outside, and many owners simply

years ago. In these surveys, people were asked why

regarded them as animals. Some people did regard

they bought pet food and what was important when athem as pets but very few thought of them as family

dog became a member of the family. In 1982, the top

members. However, according to a similar survey

reasons for buying pet food were that it seemed tasty

carried out recently, many dog owners now regard

and that it served its purpose in feeding pets. Today,

their dogs in the same way as they do their human

however, ‘peace of mind’, ‘safety’, ‘trustworthiness’ andfamily members. So nutrition has become a very

‘health’ are the most important criteria, as you can see

important key driver for pet food purchasing. This isfrom this figure.

because the number of purebred small dogs kept as
pets has increased significantly, and also because an

If we look at this on a country-by-country basis,overwhelming number of pet dogs are now kept inside

the results are also very interesting. Our company

the house.

conducted essentially the same survey in the UK,
France and Germany. Although there were some slight266

In this conceptual diagram, small breeds are shown

differences in the questions asked, we can make abottom right. This is an example from Australia. About

comparison with results obtained in the Japanese

15 years ago, the average weight of dogs in Australia

surveys. What the results reveal is that while in Japan,

was about 25kg, but now it is down to 15kg. I think‘peace of mind’ and ‘safety’ are considered the mostthis is because, originally, the basic meaning of dogs

important points, in Europe, the ‘tastiness’ is a veryin Western countries was as working animals. But asimportant reason for purchasing pet food. So it seems

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

that Japan’s development process has been different

systematically analyzed academically. Certainly,

compared to European countries. I feel that, to some

activities such as those conducted by the IAHAIO

extent, the ways in which people and dogs interact are(International Association of Human Animal Interaction

different.

Organizations) have been ongoing for the past 30 years
so far, but compared with human medicine I think the

Next, I would like to speculate about the pet fooddevelopment of this field is 40 to 50 years behind theindustry in the future. As the number of single people

times.

increased and as the social advancement of women
progressed in the West, the number of pet cats has

So as to improve this situation, in future society, we

increased significantly. Social advancement has goneneed to raise recognition for the social importance ofhand-in-hand with later marriage, a reduced birth rate,companion animals. Moreover, we need to promotesmaller families and greater longevity. Also, internet-

the social acceptance of companion animals, as wellbased communications in place of face-to-face meetingas their training and vaccination. Indeed, we haveis contributing to a sense of increased alienation. Even

to push these things forward rapidly from now on.

within a single office, people are relying more andWe also have to promote the need for pet owners tomore on email for communication. When people speaktake proper responsibility and adopt an appropriate

face to face, their conversations tend to develop inmanner. Otherwise, even when people are eager to live

various directions, but when exchanges are limited towith companion animals, if this activity leads to social

email, one-way opinions and one-way responses arefriction, not many people will affirm companion animal

exchanged with little or no expansiveness. This has led

activities. I believe these things are important for us.

people to become increasingly isolated socially.
Major environmental changes may occur for short
Moreover, I am sure that many people are using

periods with increasing frequency in the future. As

Amazon and Rakuten on-line shopping to buy goods.

Charles Darwin argued in On the Origin of Species, it is

These online retailers are so convenient that there is

not the most intelligent of the species that survive, nor

no longer any need to visit bricks and mortar shops.

is it the strongest. It is the one most able to adapt toTechnology will continue to progress and we willchanges in the environment. Today, with major changes

become even more out of touch with the natural world.

occurring socially, people are suffering increasingly

Economic and social life is now going on 24 hours afrom isolation. Human relationships are becoming lessday, and more and more people are living in high-riseand less substantial. In view of these various social

apartment or condominium buildings. As a result of all

phenomena, I believe that the importance of companion

these changes, human relations are becoming more andanimals will continue to increase.

more diluted. The idea of close relations between nearneighbors begins to sound like a very old-fashioned

Thank you very much for listening.

story, and people are suffering a sense of isolation.
People these days are also tending to marry later, orto remain single, and to divorce in greater numbers
than before. It would be wonderful if people could live
together with others until the end of their days. But inmany cases people have to live alone for long periods.
This sort of situation can act as a spur to animalcompanion activities. I have read several books about
how to develop such activities, but relationships
between animals and people have not yet been

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012

267

268

【Slide 1】【Slide 5】【Slide 2】【Slide 6】【Slide 3】【Slide 7】【Slide 4】【Slide 8】

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

【Slide 9】【Slide 13】【Slide 10】【Slide 14】【Slide 11】【Slide 15】【Slide 12】【Slide 16】

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012269

【Slide 17】【Slide 18】【Slide 19】【Slide 20】

270

りぶ・らぶ・あにまるず 神戸アニマルケア国際会議 2012

2nd Live Love Animals International Conference on Animal Care in Kobe 2012271