Background: Ethical treatment towards animals is an issue in ethics. One question is whether ethical ideology can affect the individual’s attitude towards animals. The present study was conducted to answer this question with the aim of measuring students’ attitude towards animal and its relationship with ethical ideology.

Method: This research was conducted using descriptive-survey research. The study population was consisted of students of Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan University of Medical Sciences, Golestan University and Gorgan Islamic Azad University. Based on stratified random sampling, 400 students were selected as sample group. Researcher made questionnaire was used to collect data. Obtained data was analyzed by SPSS software. Statistics such as frequency, mean, correlation coefficient and mann-whitney test were used for data analysis.    

Results: Students’ attitude towards animals was rated in moderate. Women's attitude towards animals was more favorable than the men. There was a significant positive correlation between idealism and attitude towards animals. No significant correlation was found between age and attitude towards animals.

Conclusion: Students’ attitude towards animals is not enough favorable. Therefore, there are concerns about unethical treatment of animals because attitude is influential factor on behavior. Because of the direct relationship between ethical idealism and attitude towards animals, it can be concluded that the promotion of idealism can lead to a better attitude towards animals. In this regard, the inclusion of appropriate educational content in lessons for students and use of resources of Islamic-Iranian tradition and local culture are recommended.