Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Euthanasia in Equine Practice
Euthanasia of companion animals is a challenging responsibility in the veterinary profession since veterinarians have to consider not only medical, but also legal, economic, emotional, social, and ethical factors in decision-making. To this end; an anonymous questionnaire-based survey of Austrian eq...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/2/44 |
| _version_ | 1818147739121221632 |
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| author | Svenja Springer Florien Jenner Alexander Tichy Herwig Grimm |
| author_facet | Svenja Springer Florien Jenner Alexander Tichy Herwig Grimm |
| author_sort | Svenja Springer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Euthanasia of companion animals is a challenging responsibility in the veterinary profession since veterinarians have to consider not only medical, but also legal, economic, emotional, social, and ethical factors in decision-making. To this end; an anonymous questionnaire-based survey of Austrian equine veterinarians examines the attitudes to the euthanasia of equine patients in a range of scenarios; to identify factors which may influence decisions on the ending of a horse’s life. This paper describes the distributions of demographic and attitude variables. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to test the associations of gender, work experience, and equine workload with attitudes in relation to euthanasia statements and case scenarios. In total, 64 respondents (response rate = 23.4%) completed the questionnaire. The study showed that veterinarians consider contextual and relational factors in their decision-making. They are aware of owners’ emotional bonds with their horses and financial background, however, requests for convenience euthanasia are typically rejected. Although some significant differences between the tested variables emerged, the attitudes of the veterinarians were shown to be largely shared. In conclusion, veterinarians are aware of the multiple factors that influence their decision-making and gave indications as to the weight of animal- and owner-related factors in the handling of euthanasia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:40:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0a5bb2e56191411298c2a80ad96bb037 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T12:40:02Z |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-0a5bb2e56191411298c2a80ad96bb0372022-12-22T01:07:01ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152019-01-01924410.3390/ani9020044ani9020044Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Euthanasia in Equine PracticeSvenja Springer0Florien Jenner1Alexander Tichy2Herwig Grimm3Unit of Ethics and Human-Animal-Studies, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, 1210 Vienna, AustriaUniversity Equine Hospital, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, 1210 Vienna, AustriaDepartment of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, 1210 Vienna, AustriaUnit of Ethics and Human-Animal-Studies, Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Vienna, 1210 Vienna, AustriaEuthanasia of companion animals is a challenging responsibility in the veterinary profession since veterinarians have to consider not only medical, but also legal, economic, emotional, social, and ethical factors in decision-making. To this end; an anonymous questionnaire-based survey of Austrian equine veterinarians examines the attitudes to the euthanasia of equine patients in a range of scenarios; to identify factors which may influence decisions on the ending of a horse’s life. This paper describes the distributions of demographic and attitude variables. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to test the associations of gender, work experience, and equine workload with attitudes in relation to euthanasia statements and case scenarios. In total, 64 respondents (response rate = 23.4%) completed the questionnaire. The study showed that veterinarians consider contextual and relational factors in their decision-making. They are aware of owners’ emotional bonds with their horses and financial background, however, requests for convenience euthanasia are typically rejected. Although some significant differences between the tested variables emerged, the attitudes of the veterinarians were shown to be largely shared. In conclusion, veterinarians are aware of the multiple factors that influence their decision-making and gave indications as to the weight of animal- and owner-related factors in the handling of euthanasia.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/2/44euthanasiaequine veterinary medicinequestionnaire-based surveyveterinary medical ethics |
| spellingShingle | Svenja Springer Florien Jenner Alexander Tichy Herwig Grimm Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Euthanasia in Equine Practice Animals euthanasia equine veterinary medicine questionnaire-based survey veterinary medical ethics |
| title | Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Euthanasia in Equine Practice |
| title_full | Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Euthanasia in Equine Practice |
| title_fullStr | Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Euthanasia in Equine Practice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Euthanasia in Equine Practice |
| title_short | Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Euthanasia in Equine Practice |
| title_sort | austrian veterinarians attitudes to euthanasia in equine practice |
| topic | euthanasia equine veterinary medicine questionnaire-based survey veterinary medical ethics |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/9/2/44 |
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