Trong thời gian gần đây, các quốc gia Bắc Âu đã được các nhà cải cách có ảnh hưởng nhất các tiêu chuẩn xã hội. Thậm chí cho đến ngày nay, tiêu chuẩn mới trong quyền lợi động vật đã phát minh ra ở châu Âu thường mở rộng để các cựu thuộc địa Anglo-Saxon, chẳng hạn như Australia, New Zealand, Hoa Kỳ và Canada vài năm sau đó. | The Evolution of Standards Supporting Moral Behaviour Towards Animals 57 developed and led the reform of ideas on evolution but there were other scientists proposing the same ideas at the same time. In recent times the northern European nations have been the most influential reformers of societal standards. Even to this day new standards in animal welfare devised in Europe are often extended to former Anglo-Saxon colonies such as Australia New Zealand the United States and Canada several years later. The concerns are spreading worldwide with societies to protect animal welfare becoming established or strengthened in most areas of the world. Given that most social movements of the last two centuries have usually lasted between 25 and 50 years we can expect that there will continue to be a major emphasis on animal rights and welfare improvement for several more decades and probably it will last until standards have considerably improved. Given the contentious nature of our moral stance on animal welfare issues it was perhaps inevitable that all animal rights activity would become synonymous with extremist views in just the same way as those directly involved in the female emancipation movement were branded extremists. In reality most members of the public acknowledge that animals should have some rights and recognize that this will lead to an improvement in welfare. However they would not necessarily hold the extremist view that animals cannot be used by humans. A mutually symbiotic relationship between animals and man is and will continue to be accepted by most people even after the 40-50 years or so of welfare reforms that can be anticipated. Such a relationship acknowledges that man dictates and to some extent restricts the basic freedoms of animals but also assures a life that is reasonably well provided for at least in terms of nutrition safety and health care. The animal rights advocacy framework has been not only growing but also becoming more sophisticated .
