Animals have a sense of morality and can tell right from wrong, according to new research. Species ranging from mice to wolves are governed by similar codes of conduct as humans, say ecologists. Until recently, humans were thought to be the only species to experience complex emotions But Professor Marc Bekoff, from the University of Colorado, Boulder, believes that morals are ‘hard-wired’ into the brains of all mammals. They also provide the ‘social glue’ that allow often aggressive and competitive animals to live together in groups, he said.

For instance dominant wolves dominate fairness by ‘handicapping’ themselves by engaging in role reversal with lower ranking wolves, showing submission and allowing them to bite, provided it is not too hard. Chimpanzees also demonstrate a sense of justice by setting upon those in the group who deviate from the code. They also treat disabled members differently by rarely subjecting them to displays of aggression, research found. Dolphins and whales are known to be capable of empathy because they have the same spindle cells in their brains as humans.

Prof Berkoff, who presented his case in new book, Wild Justice, said: ‘There are cases of dolphins helping humans to escape from sharks, and elephants that have helped antelope escape from enclosures.’ Experiments with rats have shown that they will not take food if they know their actions will cause pain to another rat. Similarly, mice react more strongly to pain when they have seen another mouse in pain. ‘The belief that humans have morality and animals don’t is a long-standing assumption, but there is a growing amount of evidence that is showing us that this simply cannot be the case,’ Prof Bekoff told the Sunday Telegraph.

‘Just as in humans, the moral nuances of a particular culture or group will be different from another, but they are certainly there. ‘Moral codes are species specific, so they can be difficult to compare with each other or with humans.’ His conclusions will provide ammunition for animal welfare groups pushing to have creatures treated more humanely.But some experts are sceptical about the extent to which animals can experience complex emotions and social responsibility.

Professor Frans de Waal, a primate behaviourist at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, said: ‘I don’t believe animals are moral in the sense we humans are – with well developed and reasoned sense of right and wrong – rather that human morality incorporates a set of psychological tendencies and capacities such as empathy, reciprocity, a desire for co-operation and harmony that are older than our species. ‘Human morality was not formed from scratch, but grew out of our primate psychology. Primate psychology has ancient roots, and I agree that other animals show many of the same tendencies and have an intense sociality.’