A guideline should reflect the current status of knowledge and science. When I first joined JVPT as a Deputy Editor in 2015, one of the first issues I raised was the need for authors to adhere to a strong animal ethics guideline, with JVPT recommending the ARRIVE guidelines as appropriate. However, as an international journal, we did not wish to be too prescriptive to guidelines from any particular global region and also recognized the role that institutional ethics committees should have in any research performed using animals in their institution.

A letter from Dr Pascal Richez on a recent paper published in JVPT alerted us to the fact that regional differences in the interpretation of what constitutes ethically acceptable animal welfare guidelines may indeed differ. The matter was investigated, and the authors of the original study requested to show the relevant institutional approvals and to respond to the letter from Dr Richez. A decision was made to take no further action since the authors stated that the sourcing of the study animals was not possible from elsewhere and the study required the particular breed of dogs to ensure optimal treatment of common diseases particularly affecting this breed. The authors also stated that all study dogs were successfully re‐homed as pets with institutional staff at the completion of the study.

Further action was, however, undertaken in a closer look at the JVPT animal ethics guidelines. We were fortunate to receive some advice from Dr Anne Fawcett, an expert in Animal Ethics and Welfare, with a subsequent revision to JVPT guidelines to ensure adherence to international guidelines irrespective of the region. The letter from Dr Richez, the response from the study authors and a Guest Editorial from Dr Fawcett are all published in this current issue of JVPT. We wish to thank their contributions to making the animal ethics guidelines for JVPT stronger and ensuring a high degree of compliance with international expectations while undertaking any scientific study involving animals.

指南应反映知识和科学的当前状况。当我于2015年以副编辑的身份首次加入JVPT时，我提出的第一个问题是作者必须遵守严格的动物道德准则，而JVPT则适当推荐了ARRIVE准则。但是，作为国际期刊，我们不希望对任何特定全球区域的准则都过于规范，并且也认识到机构伦理委员会在使用其机构中的动物进行的任何研究中应发挥的作用。

帕斯卡·里奇兹（Pascal Richez）博士在JVPT上发表的最新论文中的一封信使我们意识到，在解释什么构成伦理上可接受的动物福利准则方面，地区差异可能确实存在差异。对此事进行了调查，原始研究的作者要求出示相关机构的认可并回复Richez博士的来信。由于作者指出无法从其他地方采购研究动物，因此决定不采取进一步行动，该研究需要特定品种的狗以确保对特别是影响该品种的常见疾病进行最佳治疗。作者还指出，在研究完成时，所有的研究犬都已成功地作为宠物带回家了。

但是，在仔细研究《 JVPT动物道德准则》后采取了进一步的行动。我们很幸运地收到了动物伦理与福利专家Anne Fawcett博士的一些建议，并随后对JVPT指南进行了修订，以确保无论地区如何都遵守国际准则。Richez博士的来信，研究作者的回信和Fawcett博士的客座社论都发表在本期JVPT中。我们要感谢他们为加强JVPT的动物道德准则并确保在进行任何涉及动物的科学研究时确保高度遵守国际期望所做的贡献。