Ethical dilemmas encountered by small animal veterinarians: challenging the status quo?

Vanessa Ashall

doi:10.1136/vr.k2039

Abstract

Ethical dilemmas frequently arise in veterinary practice and can be a cause of work-related stress. The study by Kipperman and others,1 summarised on p 548 of this week’s Vet Record...

Highlights

ETHICAL dilemmas frequently arise in veterinary practice and can be a cause of work-related stress
The challenges associated with animal advocacy are illustrated through an exploration of euthanasia of companion animals – the authors found that more respondents agreed than disagreed that veterinarians use euthanasia as a method of resolving difficult cases when this may not be in the best interests of the patient
The authors rightly claim that the meaning of the term ‘euthanasia’ is not clearly defined in the veterinary context, and argue that recent American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) definitions of euthanasia as a ‘humane’ death do not fit well with their findings that only 17 per cent of surveyed vets believe the euthanasia of animals using an acceptable methods is always an ethical procedure

Summary

Introduction

ETHICAL dilemmas frequently arise in veterinary practice and can be a cause of work-related stress. The challenges associated with animal advocacy are illustrated through an exploration of euthanasia of companion animals – the authors found that more respondents agreed than disagreed that veterinarians use euthanasia as a method of resolving difficult cases when this may not be in the best interests of the patient.

Results

Conclusion