ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Behavior and Welfare
Solving the Riddle by Puzzling It Out: Overcoming the Challenges of Harm–Benefit Analysis by Assembling a Compound Model and Practice-Oriented Tool
Provisionally accepted
- 1Messerli Research Institute, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- 2Institute of Comparative Medicine, Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
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The practical application of harm–benefit analysis (HBA), a requirement mandated by European Union Directive 2010/63/EU, has been extensively examined. However, reviewing bodies can access only sparse and often incomplete HBA guidance. This study develops a composite HBA method composed of the relevant and useful elements from current guidance documents and provides instructions on conducting such an analysis. It redefines HBA approaches, eliminating redundant aspects while meeting the Directive's requirements. This novel compound HBA method includes a clear procedural methodology to guide project applicants, reviewing bodies, and authorities in transparent and coherent decision-making.
Keywords: Harm-benefit analysis, Guidance document, decision-making, Ethical Review, animalresearch ethics committees
Received: 14 Mar 2025; Accepted: 04 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hajosi and Grimm. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dominik Hajosi, 01145020@students.vetmeduni.ac.at
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