Veterinary Ethics Lecture Notes PDF, December 2024, University of Alberta

INTRO TO VETERINARY ETHICS December 6, 2024 Today’s objectives Understand the importance of ethics in vet med (and other professions) Define 2 basic ethical principles Discuss ethical dilemmas Know what you can do to maintain strong ethical principles...

INTRO TO VETERINARY ETHICS December 6, 2024 Today’s objectives Understand the importance of ethics in vet med (and other professions) Define 2 basic ethical principles Discuss ethical dilemmas Know what you can do to maintain strong ethical principles 2 What is veterinary ethics? The framework by which you make moral decisions Personal, professional, social ethics: you might have different values across each domain The most common ethical dilemma in vet med is “to whom does the veterinarian owe primary obligation: owner or animal?” (Rollin, 2006) Your ethical foundation will determine your conception of animal welfare and drive your attitude, values, and practices 4 Ethics determines concept of animal welfare Much of animal welfare science in the past has been focused on biological needs Increased focus on “a good life” or “life worth living” Think of a scenario and then consider: if we are faced with the question, ”is this animal’s life worth living?”, what would our answer be? → how do we go about finding the answer to this question? 5 An ethics based oath: UK vet college https://www.rcvs.org.uk/document-library/code-of-professional-conduct-for-veterinary- surgeons/#:~:text=“I%20PROMISE%20AND%20SOLEMNLY%20DECLARE,welfare%20of%20animals%20commi tted%20to 6 An ethics based oath: CVMA version https://www.canadianveteri narians.net/media/o5qjghc 0/principles-of-veterinary- medical-ethics-of-the- cvma.pdf 7 Vet schools include ethics in curriculum Examining Why Ethics Is Taught to Veterinary Students: A Qualitative Study of Veterinary Educators' Perspectives Manuel Magalhães-Sant'Ana, Jesper Lassen, Kate M. Millar, Peter Sandøe, and I. Anna S. Olsson Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 2014 41:4, 350-357 8 A very brief overview of ethical frameworks Utilitarian Harms done are acceptable if goodness/happiness is maximized Example: animal use in research, intensive livestock production Harm should be reduced when possible Some members of society are of greater importance ie; animals have less importance than humans Caring about/for animals because they are of moral concern to an owner rather than for the sake of the animal as a being 10 Utilitarian The utilitarian ethical framework is applied in both largescale scenarios and specific decisions: Animals in intensive management systems (herd health vs individual) Veterinary care that causes significant fear/anxiety/stress Training animals in ways that cause fear/pain Castration without sedation/analgesia Think about how practices are justified 11  This approach is common but presents dilemmas when we start to care about animals for their own sake Deontological approach Includes many specific ethical frameworks. The general principle is: There are objective rights and wrongs and harms All individuals, regardless of species, should have their interests considered based on their individual needs. Some important ethicists that have advanced animal welfare science: Peter Singer, Bernard Rollins, Dan Fraser (read their work) 13 Care ethics Very new concept in animal welfare science Differentiates caring for vs caring about someone Sympathy and empathy motivates care without projecting our own objectives or feelings onto the one being cared for But often care is instrumentalized ie; we provide care that has other motives besides the needs of the individual in care 14 Moral stress 15 https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/261/5/javma.22.12.0598.xml Our brains hate conflicting information Cognitive dissonance is the phenomenon where we hold a belief/value but our attitudes/practices conflict We naturally work to reduce dissonance ”Moral stress” is significant mental health risk for vets (Vettical, B. S. (2018). An overview on ethics and ethical decision-making process in veterinary practice. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 31(6), 739-749.) Question: what would be the most logical thing to do if you are in a state of cognitive dissonance??? 16 Dissonance reduction strategies Behaviour change Positive reframing Justification Blame shifting Knowledge deficit model 17 18 It is not always/ever easy What you can do to prepare yourself Learn about ethical frameworks so that you can understand others and yourself Commit to protecting animal welfare first Learn excellent communication skills (being told something is wrong when beliefs are strong will be met with absolute resistance) Surround yourself with the right people 20 Thank you…