The Veterinarian’s Role
In Animal Welfare
MODULE
CONCEPTS IN ANIMAL WELFARE
The Veterinarian’s Role in Animal Welfare
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A. Objectives
This module will enable you to:
1) Understand role of vets in animal welfare & ethical issues
2) Acquire frameworks for making ethical decisions in practice
3) Understand the different attitudes to welfare & ethics among vets
4) Understand some welfare/ethical issues found in practice
B. The role of vets
1) Individually
Role of the individual vet in animal welfare
1. Prevention and treatment of disease
2. Education
– Communication skills
3. Prevent animal cruelty / abuse
– Client confidentiality
– http://canadianveterinarians.net/animal-abuse.aspx
– Role of the individual vet in animal welfare
4. Promote humane education
5. Practice good communication skills
6. Practice ethical decision-making in practice
– Ethical dimension to almost every action
– Need robust, logical and consistent reasoning
2) Collectively
A. Licensing body
B. Professional association
A. Licensing body
1. Helps animal welfare / ethics by enforcing the local Veterinary Act
 If members do not follow certain rules, they may lose the right to practice--be
‘struck off’
 Following the rules may not always result in the right action
 May have guidelines for common professional ethical issues
2. Influences legislation on animal welfare
3. Develops policy
4. May comment publicly on welfare
5. Help animal welfare by ensuring that vets meet certain standards e.g. have passed
national exam.
 Vets may have to take a solemn oath
– U.K. “…my constant endeavour will be to ensure the welfare of animals
committed to my care.”
– Does the oath help animal welfare?
– Licensing body
6. Helps animal welfare by approving the curriculum at vet
schools
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CONCEPTS IN ANIMAL WELFARE
The Veterinarian’s Role in Animal Welfare
7. Could help animal welfare by acting as spokesperson
– Promote animal welfare
– Communicate welfare/ethical policies to the
general public
– Comment on topical issues
B. Professional association
1. Protects vets’ interests
– Sometimes these are the same as animals’
interests
2. May have explicit animal welfare positions
–
Not legally binding
–
Not all vets may be members, so positions do not
represent the entire profession
C. A framework for ethical decision-making
1) Identify all possible courses of action
2) Establish interests of affected parties
3) Identify ethical issues involved
4) Establish legal position of the dilemma
5) Choose a course of action
6) Minimise the impact of the decision
1) Identify all possible courses of action
• ‘Value- free’ stage
• Options can include:
– No treatment
– Palliative treatment
– Active treatment
– Further diagnostics
– Referral
– Euthanasia
2) Establish the interests of affected parties
• Parties may include:
– Animal
– Owner(s)
– Vet
– Vet profession?
– Society?
• Conflicts between parties often central to dilemma
– Economics are often a significant factor
• Each of those affected (or their agent) should explain why they hold their view
• Are their motives reasonable?
3) Identify the ethical issues
• Must consider the ethical dilemma without distraction from surrounding issues
• May be more than one ethical issue involved
4) Establish the legal position
• Assume the vet will abide by the law
• Does the professional body have a policy?
• Consider relevant professional guidelines
Ex: RCVS Guidance (2000)
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CONCEPTS IN ANIMAL WELFARE
The Veterinarian’s Role in Animal Welfare
“No veterinary surgeon is obliged to kill a healthy animal…”
“The veterinary surgeon’s primary obligation is to relieve the suffering of an animal but
account must be taken not only of the animal’s condition but also the owner’s wishes and
circumstances”
“Where in all conscience, a veterinary surgeon cannot accede to a client’s request for
euthanasia he or she should recognise the extreme sensitivity of the situation and make
sympathetic efforts to direct the client to alternative sources of advice”
5) Choose a logical course of action
• Use a logical ethical theory e.g.
– Utilitarianism
– Deontology
• Be aware of the theory’s limitations
– Is it still the most appropriate for this decision?
– In practice, combination of theories used
6) Minimise the impact of the decision
• Often termed ‘refinement’
• Aim to reduce the harm produced by the decision
• Easily overlooked
–
Use principles of medical ethics to help
D. Guiding principles from medical ethics
When making an ethical decision, consider all these:
1) Non-maleficence
2) Beneficence
3) Autonomy
4) Justice
1) Non-maleficence
• Principle of doing no harm— “Primum non nocere”
• Ensure this first before going on to the next step
• May have to weigh up short-term harm against long-term benefit
2) Beneficence
• Principle of promoting good
• Follows when non-maleficence is ensured
• Try to promote good in both the short- and long-term
3) Autonomy
• The ability of people or animals to be self-governing—to make choices about their lives
and to act upon their choices
– E.g., when to eat or sleep
• The choices of two autonomous agents may conflict
– E.g., vet and client, predator and prey
4) Justice
• Treating all animals and people in a fair and equal way
• Divide up resources
– Equally for each individual
– According to need
– According to greatest benefit
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E. Attitudes among vets / vet students
1) U.K. vet students
– Lower empathy among final-year male students than among first-year males
– Males showed lower empathy than females
– Importance of role models at vet school
2) U.S. vet students
– Students from farming backgrounds showed lower levels of concern about questions of
animal welfare than did students from urban backgrounds
3) Attitudes among vets
• Peri-operative analgesia
– In western countries, many vets do not provide adequate peri-op. analgesia to farm
animal, horses, or dogs and cats
– Male vets may be less likely than female vets to provide adequate analgesia
F. Ethical reasoning
Logical ethical reasoning will:
– Reduce the effect of biased attitudes to animal welfare
– Enable the right decisions to be made rather than relying on common practice
– Allow confidence in your professional decisions
G. Welfare/Ethical issues found in the practice
A. Surgery
• Will the animal be in an unacceptable amount of pain?
• What is the long-term prospect following the surgery?
• Does the vet have sufficient expertise for the procedure?
• What are the interests of the parties concerned?
B. Confinement of animals during treatment
• How long will confinement be for?
• How much distress will it cause?
• What are the alternatives?
• How can the negative aspects of the confinement be
minimised?
C. Treatment of animals with low income owners
• Does the practice have a policy on this?
• Does the professional body have a policy on this?
• What are the alternatives?
• What action will promote the greatest good?
D. Euthanasia of stray animals
• Animals may be:
– healthy or unhealthy
– a public nuisance/health hazard
• Does the animal have:
– a right to life?
– the right to a humane death?
• What course of action will promote the overall good?
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E. Management of sick farm animals
• Lack of treatment / delayed euthanasia
• Role of “cheap food” policy
– Society demands low food prices
– Supermarkets have powerful buying cartels that dictate the
price paid to farmers
– Farmers’ profit margins are very very narrow
• What action promotes the greatest good?
• Should the animal’s well-being take priority over the farmer’s wallet?
– When?
– Does food policy need to change so that sometimes animals’ well-being can come
first?
F. Management of sick draught animals
• Some may go untreated or have euthanasia delayed. Why?
– Economics
– Attitudes: not seen as sentient
– Ignorance
• Economic benefits of treatment / euthanasia?
• How can attitudes be changed?
G. Treatment of wild animals
• Wild animals
– May be more adversely affected by veterinary treatment than domestic animals
– May have special legal status
– May be considered as pests
• Can the needs of the animal be fulfilled in the short or long-term?
H. Summary
1) Profession’s role in animal welfare
 Licensing body & professional association
2) Individual vets’ roles in animal welfare
 Making ethical decisions in practice
 6-point ethical framework
 Animal abuse
3) Attitudes among vets
 Role of background & vet school
 Not enough attention paid to pain management
4) Welfare/ethical issues found in practice
 Importance of economics
 Use ethical framework and professional guidelines
Further reading (from Concepts in Animal Welfare Syllabus)
 British
Society
of
Animal
Science.
What
Price
Cheap
Food?
<http://www.bsas.org.uk/meetings_&_workshops/past_meetings/past_meetings>.
British
Society of Animal Science: Penicuik, Scotland, 2002
 Christie JL, Hewson CJ, Riley CB, McNiven MA, Dohoo IR, Bate LA. A preliminary equine
abuse policy with potential application to veterinary practice. Can Vet J 2005; 46: 250-252
 De Aluja AS. The Welfare of Working Equids in Mexico. Appl Anim Behav Sci 1998: 59, 19-29
 De Boo J, Knight A. Educating the Veterinary Professional about Animal Welfare. Alternatives
to Animal Experiments 2006, 23, special issue: 71-74
 Dohoo SE, Dohoo IR. Factors influencing the postoperative use of analgesics in dogs and
cats by Canadian veterinarians. Can Vet J 1996; 37:552-555.
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Hewson CJ, Dohoo IR, Lemke KA. Factors affecting the use of postincisional analgesics in
dogs and cats by Canadian veterinarians in 2001. Can Vet J 2006; 47:453-459.
Further Reading
Hewson CJ. How might veterinarians do more for animal welfare? Can Vet J 2003; 44:10001004.
Hewson CJ. Showing leadership in welfare: position statements and some of their
consequences. Can Vet J 2004; 45:781-786
Hewson CJ. Leadership in animal welfare: a comparison of Canada with the United States,
the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Can Vet J 2004; 45:944-950
Hewson CJ. Leadership in animal welfare: the role of veterinary colleges. Can Vet J 2005;
46:74-78
Hewson CJ. Veterinarians who swear: animal welfare and the veterinary oath. Can Vet J.
2006 47: 807-811
Hewson CJ. Hidden costs of food production: the veterinarian’s role. J Vet Med Educ 2007 33:
561-566
Lemke KA. Understanding the pathophysiology of peri-operative pain. Can Vet J 2004;
45:405-413.
Further Reading
Levine ED, Mills DS, Houpt KA. Attitudes of veterinary students at one US college towards
factors relating to farm animal welfare. J Vet Med Educ 2005; 32: 481-490
Main DJ. Offering the best to patients: ethical issues associated with the provision of
veterinary services. Vet Rec 2006; 158: 62-66
Molony V. and Kent, J.E. 1997. Assessment of acute pain in farm animals using behavioral
and physiological measurements. Journal of Animal Science, Vol 75, Issue 1 266-272.
Muir WW, Woolf CJ. Mechanisms of pain and their therapeutic implications. J Am Vet Med
Assoc 2001;219:1346-1356.
Patronek G. Issues and guidelines for veterinarians in recognizing, reporting, and assessing
animal neglect and abuse. In: Olson P (ed) Recognizing and Reporting Animal Abuse: A
Veterinarian’s Guide. Englewood, Colorado: American Humane Association 1998: 25-39.
Further Reading
Paul ES & Podberscek AL. Veterinary education and students' attitudes towards animal
welfare. Vet Rec 2000; 146: 269-272
Schneider, B. A study in animal ethics in New Brunswick. Can Vet J 2001; 42: 540-547
Serpell JA. Factors influencing veterinary students’ career choices and attitudes to animals. J
Vet Med Educ 2005; 32: 491-497
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