Veterinary ethics

Animal welfare has been a subject that is studied in great depth, it largely looks at the ways in which an animal may suffer in particular circumstances or how their lives may be enriched. Animal ethics is another well documented subject where philosophers, since Aristotle,[1] have commented on its importance. Often referred to as “the animal problem’ the questions that seem to be asked in this field are at their foundation trying to determine what the morally relevant difference is between animals and humans, and if there is no difference how do we justify treating animals a certain way and if there is a difference then what is it about this difference that allows us to treat animals in a certain way.

Veterinary ethics is a modern subject that does not have a defined start point. As it combines the study of animal welfare and animal ethics as its root and uses information from this as data for its deliberations it could be said to have a long history, however as an academic discipline it is only recently that works have been published on the topic.

The two academics seen to have written on veterinary ethics for the longest are Bernard Rollin (Colorado State University)[2] and Jerrold Tannenbaum (University of California, Davis).[3] They can be seen as the founders of the subject in veterinary ethics. Currently, most veterinary schools teach veterinary ethics and it is often combined in teaching with animal welfare or with law.[4]

The subject is very similar to that of human medical ethics in that the study of the relationship between the doctor and the patient relates closely to that of the veterinary surgeon and animal owner. However, the subject differs greatly in the consideration of the uses of animals, while a doctor’s duty may to preserve life at nearly all cost, the veterinary surgeon needs to adapt their attitude to health and longevity of life to the purpose of the animal (E.g., farm animals).

Much of what is understood in the field of professionalism and professional responsibilities in confidentiality, preserving autonomy, beneficence, truth-telling, whistleblowing, informed consent and communication is largely lifted from the research done in the medical profession. The difference between the human patients and the animal patients does not interfere with the professionalism discussion between doctors and human patients and vets with their clients.

Another major difference between veterinary ethics and human medical ethics is the interplay with law. Human medical ethics has driven changes in the law and, to a lesser degree, vice versa. Largely involving cases of human rights a wide ranging variety of high-profile legal challenges in many countries have involved the use of ethics to encourage changes in law (for example, assisted suicide, abortion, duty of care, rights to refuse treatment). Veterinary ethics does not have such a strong interplay. It is rare to have an animal based legal challenge reaching high into the legal system. Cases involving challenges to professionalism and duty of care are largely dealt with via the veterinary governing bodies.

The veterinary profession remains largely self-regulating across the world (e.g., by the RCVS and AVMA). This has caused some controversy as to why the veterinary profession remains one of the few remaining self-regulating professions.[5] Bernard Rollin wrote on this the difficulty in keeping public confidence while remaining self-regulating, trust and impartiality are critical but most importantly is the need for a profession to self-sacrificial by putting the clients needs above that of the profession or professional’s need.

“Every profession—be it medicine, law, or agriculture—is given freedom by the social ethic to pursue its aims. In return, society basically says to professions it does not understand well enough to regulate, “You regulate yourselves the way we would regulate you if we understood what you do, which we don’t. But we will know if you don’t self-regulate properly and then we will [hammer you with draconian rules and] regulate you, despite our lack of understanding.”[6]

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) regularly reviews and updates its principles of ethics. The AVMA Judicial Council acts as the group in charge of ensuring the principles are current. Much like the human medical code, veterinarians are expected to "adhere to a progressive code of ethical conduct". Overall there are eight main principles, covering areas such as compentance, animal welfare, the veterinarian-client-patient relationship, standards of professionalism, honesty, compliance with the law, continuing education, acting within boundaries of compentance, and the betterment of public health.[7]

The key topics within veterinary ethics are:

• Euthanasia
• Informed consent
• Complementary and alternative medicine
• Cosmetic interventions
• Non-therapeutic mutilations
• Negligence
• Professionalism
• Religious influences
• Research ethics
• Confidentiality
• Selective breeding
• Professional regulation

Universities Federation for Animal Welfare