Veterinary Ethics Overview December 2024

Introduction to Veterinary Ethics

• The lecture is about veterinary ethics, specifically for December 6, 2024
• The objectives include understanding the importance of ethics in veterinary medicine (and other professions)
• Defining two basic ethical principles
• Discussing ethical dilemmas
• Knowing how to maintain strong ethical principles

What is Veterinary Ethics?

• Veterinary ethics is a framework for making moral decisions.
• It considers personal, professional, and social ethics; values and attitudes may vary across domains.
• A common ethical dilemma is determining the primary obligation of a veterinarian: the owner or the animal.

Ethics Determines Concept of Animal Welfare

• Past animal welfare science focused on biological needs.
• A growing focus is on a "good life" or "life worth living."
• A scenario for discussion: evaluating whether an animal's life is worth living.

An Ethics-Based Oath: UK Vet College

• A UK veterinary college oath states the commitment to pursuing the work of the profession with integrity, responsibility to the public, clients, the profession, and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
• The paramount focus is ensuring the health and welfare of animals under their care.

An Ethics-Based Oath: CVMA Version

• The CVMA (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association) oath outlines the use of scientific knowledge and skills for societal benefit.
• It emphasizes promoting animal health and welfare, preventing suffering, protecting public and environmental health, advancing comparative medical knowledge.
• This oath highlights consistent professional conduct, ethical standards, continual learning, and commitment to the profession.

Vet Schools Include Ethics in Curriculum

• Vet schools include ethics in their curriculum, covering ethical awareness, knowledge, and skills.
• Learning objectives include recognizing ethical issues in practice, the values of others, veterinary standards, laws, ethical reasoning, value-aware communication, decision-making, individual and professional identities.

Utilitarian Ethical Framework

• Harms are acceptable if goodness/happiness is maximized. Examples include animal use in research and intensive livestock production.
• Harm should be reduced when possible.
• Some members of society (humans) are prioritized over others (animals) in terms of moral concern.
• Applications include managing animals in intensive systems, veterinary care, and animal training causing fear/pain, and castration without sedation/analgesia.

Deontological Approach

• There are objective rights, wrongs, and harms
• All individuals, regardless of species, deserve consideration based on individual needs.
• Important ethicists contributing to animal welfare include Peter Singer, Bernard Rollin, and Dan Fraser.

Care Ethics

• Care ethics is a relatively new concept in animal welfare science and distinguishes between caring for versus caring about someone.
• Key elements include sympathy, empathy, avoiding projecting feelings onto the subject, and acknowledges that care can be instrumentalized.

Moral Distress

• Moral distress occurs when a practitioner believes they are doing wrong yet has limited power to change the situation.
• It's associated with conflicting professional values, a lack of power, and repeated experiences in a professional setting.
• Moral distress exists at the patient, unit, and system levels.

Our Brains Hate Conflicting Information

• Cognitive dissonance is when beliefs and values conflict with attitudes or actions.
• People naturally seek to reduce dissonance.
• "Moral stress" is a significant mental health concern identified with ethics and decision-making in veterinary practice.

Dissonance Reduction Strategies

• Dissonance reduction strategies include behaviour change, positive reframing, justification, blame shifting, and acknowledging knowledge deficits.

What You Can Do To Prepare Yourself

• Learn about ethical frameworks to better understand yourself and others.
• Prioritize animal welfare when making decisions.
• Develop excellent communication skills, crucial due to potential resistance.
• Surround yourself with supportive and ethical individuals.