animal welfare

  • How Tourists View the Ethics of Sled Dog Safaris in Finnish Lapland

    How Tourists View the Ethics of Sled Dog Safaris in Finnish Lapland

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    ‘So, to me it was incredible [to meet the sled dogs]. I mean, it was incredible to be able to spend time with them and stuff. But in the back of my mind, I feel a bit, you know, sad for some of them that had to pull the sled and stuff, but maybe they liked it, I don’t know.’ (Interviewee 4)

    This quote is from my master’s thesis where I studied tourists’ ethical views on sled dog safaris. I had a great opportunity to research sled dog safaris as a commission for the PAWWS project. The research data consisted of six interviews with international tourists who visited sled dog kennels in Finnish Lapland. I conducted the research via video calls in spring 2025 and I focused on four larger safari operators. In this overview, I present the findings of my research.

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  • Pulling the Weight of Tourism: Multispecies Welfare in Finnish Husky Safaris

    Pulling the Weight of Tourism: Multispecies Welfare in Finnish Husky Safaris

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    While the holiday frenzy has faded for much of the world, in Finnish Lapland, sled dogs continue to pull tourists through the snow-covered landscapes of the North—often until late April. Particularly in more popular places such as the official hometown of Santa Claus, Rovaniemi, and the ski resort Levi, husky safaris are now established as a key attraction rating as one of the top tourism activities For many, it is becoming increasingly “difficult to imagine a visit to Lapland without huskies” (Bohn, García-Rosell, & Äijälä, 2018; 3). With approximately 2 million tourists visiting Lapland in 2024, this creates pressures on husky safaris to cater to an increasing demand. As a result, the number of sled dogs, guides, and working hours continue to rise at a concerning rate. At the moment, there are over 50 kennels ranging from 12-500 dogs per operator.

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  • About animals in organisational research – from resources to sentient agents and subjects

    About animals in organisational research – from resources to sentient agents and subjects

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    What do non-human animals have to do with organisational research? How can animal agency and interests become central issues in future organisational research? In our human-run organisations and societies, animals work for and with us in a variety of roles, even though their economically valuable, medical, and health-related contributions are rarely considered as work.

    In PAWWS, organisational researchers, veterinary scientists, and clinical dog experts collaborate to generate new and integrated knowledge about human-animal relationships and the intertwined well-being of humans and working animals in organisations.

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  • Om djur i organisationsforskningen – från resurser till kännande aktörer och subjekt

    Om djur i organisationsforskningen – från resurser till kännande aktörer och subjekt

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    Vad har icke-mänskliga djur med organisationsforskningen att göra? Hur kan djurs aktörskap och intressen bli centrala frågor inom en framåtblickande organisationsforskning? I våra människostyrda organisationer och samhällen arbetar djur för och tillsammans med oss i en mängd olika roller, även om denna nationalekonomiskt värdefulla, medicinska och hälsomässiga insats sällan räknas som arbete.

    Inom PAWWS arbetar vi organisationsforskare, veterinärmedicinska forskare och kliniska hundexperter tillsammans för att skapa ny och integrerad kunskap om människo-djurrelationer och människors och arbetande djurs sammanvävda välmående i organisationer.

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animal assisted interventions (AAI) (1) animal assisted therapy (AAT) (4) animal welfare (4) emotional labour (1) events (3) language: english (8) language: finnish (6) language: swedish (4) multispecies research (4) organisational research (3) pain dogs (3) podcast (1) sled dogs (1) workshop (2)

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