The Importance of Animal Welfare Science and Ethics to Veterinary Students in Australia and New Zealand

A Study on Veterinary Faculty Students' Opinions on Ethics Education and Career Choices: A Case of Ondokuz Mayıs University

BACKGROUND

Veterinary ethics is a multifaceted element of the veterinary profession as it deals with various ethical issues related to medical practice, animal welfare, professional behaviour and societal expectations. By focusing on teaching ethics in veterinary medicine education, it will be possible to guide future veterinarians through the ethical dilemmas and conflicts they may encounter in their careers.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the opinions of the Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine intern students about ethics education in veterinary medicine. Evaluation and comparison of the perspective on ethics education and career choice.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was used to collect data via a questionnaire. Data obtained from 87 out of 119 students in the intern programme were evaluated. Responses were analysed by statistical methods.

RESULTS

In the study, it was determined that pet veterinary services (private sector) and government veterinary services (public sector) were the leading career choices of intern veterinary students; female and male students wanted to turn to different fields of work; and the difference in career preferences did not change the views on ethics education. It was observed that students needed applied teaching and measurement-evaluation methods in ethics education and sought role models in developing ethical attitudes and behaviours. In addition to gaining ethical knowledge in veterinary education, it was observed that they attach importance to professional and legal obligations.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is one of the few studies on veterinary ethics education and career choice in Turkey. The study results provide information to guide the development of veterinary ethics education to prepare future veterinarians for the complex ethical issues they will face in their careers.

A global survey of companion animal veterinary practitioners on animal welfare teaching - Focus on undergraduate and continuing education, and clients' sources of information

As part of a wider research on animal welfare, a global survey was developed to gain insight into the opinion of companion animal veterinarians about animal welfare education, namely to investigate i) their exposure to animal welfare teaching during their undergraduate education, ii) their access to continuing professional education on animal welfare, and iii) their opinions on clients' sources of information on animal welfare. The survey was distributed to companion animal veterinarians around the world. The results were highly influenced by the large numbers of respondents who trained in the Russian Federation, Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or the United States of America. Worldwide, 58.4% of the respondents thought that animal welfare was poorly covered or not taught at all when they were students. The best coverage of animal welfare was in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Most companion animal veterinarians (65.3%) had access to continuing education on animal welfare, but there were small differences between the six above-mentioned countries. Companion animal veterinarians get information on animal welfare mainly from the internet and veterinary conferences/meetings, and thought that their clients obtained animal welfare information from various sources. The findings show that there is a need to improve education on animal welfare in veterinary curricula and the provision of relevant continuing education, so that companion animal practitioners can keep abreast of developments and societal expectations.

Crucial but Neglected: Limited Availability of Animal Welfare Courses in Education of Wildlife Researchers

Animal welfare is a subject of increasing scientific and ethical concern in today's society, crucial for the well-being of animals used in research and the integrity of scientific data. Equipping researchers in the life science disciplines with a science-based knowledge of animal welfare, behaviour, physiology, and health is, therefore, essential. Nevertheless, previous studies evaluating animal welfare education focused on veterinary, laboratory, or farm animal science. Consequently, the aim of this study was, for the very first time, to map the prevalence of animal welfare courses in the university education of ecologists, wildlife biologists, and conservation managers in Europe, Canada, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. A comprehensive assessment of 1548 universities was conducted, resulting in the identification of 596 relevant programs at the bachelor's and master's levels. Analysis of the curricula revealed that only 1% of the programs offered a formal course on animal welfare, while 65% provided courses on animal behaviour, 59% on animal physiology, and 34% on animal health. However, the majority of these courses were listed as electives rather than mandatory components of the programs. These results underscore the need for universities to incorporate more formal and obligatory education in animal welfare in order to better prepare future ecologists, wildlife biologists, and conservation managers for the challenges of working with wildlife.

A Nationwide Survey of Animal Science Students' Perceptions of Animal Welfare across Different Animal Categories at Institutions in the United States

Animal welfare is an increasingly important topic across multiple academic disciplines; however, few studies have investigated student perceptions of animal welfare outside of veterinary medicine. The objective of the study was to evaluate animal science students’ perceptions of animal welfare to determine if perceptions differ across animal categories. An online survey was distributed to animal science programs at institutions across the United States. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed on 624 responses. Almost all respondents agreed welfare was important for all animal categories (≥97%). The survey asked respondents to rate the level of importance of 12 welfare parameters and there was evidence that the level of importance differed by animal category (p < 0.0001), e.g., fewer respondents indicated having positive interactions with humans was important for agricultural animals. In a subset of questions about agricultural animals, fewer respondents agreed that swine (325, 52.1%) and poultry (268, 43.0%) are raised with an appropriate level of welfare compared to dairy (425, 68.1%) and beef cattle (421, 67.5%). Four free-response questions asked respondents to report their general perceptions of welfare. Thematic analysis identified multiple themes, such as basic needs and human interaction, with most responses (75%) including two or more themes.

Perceptions of animal welfare and animal welfare curricula offered for undergraduate and graduate students in animal science departments in the United States

While perceptions of animal welfare have been assessed in veterinary students and students internationally, there remains a gap in research concerning undergraduate and graduate student perspectives of animal welfare in animal science programs at colleges and universities across the United States. A survey was developed to assess current animal science student perspectives of the importance of animal welfare as part of their education, their knowledge of available educational opportunities, and resources they think should be included in animal welfare curricula. An online survey was distributed to a national listserv of university administrators of animal science programs in the United States. A total of 624 survey responses were statistically summarized. Most respondents were undergraduate students (78.0%, n = 487), between the ages of 18 and 24 (85.9%, n = 536), and female (86.1%, n = 537). Results indicated that despite most respondents not taking an animal welfare course previously (60.7%, n = 379), most students strongly agreed that the inclusion of an animal welfare course is an important part of the animal science curriculum (72.0%, n = 449), that animal welfare is an important component of their education (63.1%, n = 394), and that animal welfare courses would be helpful for their future careers (70.0%, n = 437). When asked what attributes would be most important in an animal welfare class, students identified many different types of information and resources. The majority of respondents answered that discussing current hot topics in animal welfare (76.1%, n = 475), ethical discussions (76.0%, n = 474), and practical, applied questions (75.3%, n = 470) were important course components. Suggestions for future research include investigating how animal science student perceptions change before and after taking an animal welfare course and exploring opportunities to expand formal welfare education in animal science departments. Inclusion of animal welfare into the curriculum is critical as many of the students currently enrolled in animal science departments will become the future stakeholders in animal-focused industries.

Veterinary Student Knowledge and Attitudes about Swine Change after Lectures and a Farm Visit

Veterinary schools are facing the challenge of increasing animal welfare (AW) training while also attracting future practitioners to livestock medicine. Both objectives may be better achieved through farm visits early in veterinary training. First year veterinary students at the University of Minnesota (n = 103) were surveyed during the Spring 2019 Professional Development II course to document their knowledge, attitudes, and values relative to pigs, AW, and the industry before and after classroom and online lectures and a visit to a farrow-to-wean farm. Quantitative (Kruskal-Wallis, Kendall tau-c and Chi-Square) and qualitative (content analysis) analyses were used to identify shifts in knowledge and attitudes and associations with demographics and use of the AW values of biological functioning, affective state, and natural living. Most students were female (85.4%), from urban/suburban backgrounds (68.9%), and did not wish to work with livestock (66.0%). Knowledge scores (p <.05) and attitudes toward pigs (p = .0152) improved after visiting the farm. Satisfaction with AW on most commercial farms shifted after the farm visit (p = .0003), with those valuing biological functioning becoming more satisfied (p = .0342). In contrast, students who visited the farm when enrichment was provided were more dissatisfied compared to those who toured the farm without enrichment (p = .0490). Those referencing natural living (p = .0047) rated the toured farm as a poorer steward of welfare. Students' AW concerns included behavioral restriction in individual stalls and injury and lameness in group pens. Farm visits are an important tool in veterinary education, but may result in segmentation in student knowledge and attitudes relative to livestock welfare.

VETERINARY STUDENTS' OPINIONS ON THEIR REQUIRED COMPETENCE IN DEALING WITH WELFARE AND ETHICS ISSUES PERTAINING TO WILDLIFE

The aim of this research was to determine what veterinary students in Australia and New Zealand consider important for animal welfare and ethics (AWE) competence when dealing with wildlife, and to determine how these priorities correlate with gender and stage of study. These students were asked to state their gender and stage of veterinary education and to rank the importance of six AWE topics: (1) "disaster preparedness," (2) "veterinarians' duties to wild animals," (3) "methods and justification for wild animal use" (e.g., harvesting/ hunting, wildlife parks), (4) "tensions between animal-welfare concerns and environmental concerns," (5) "the nature and status of semiowned animals," and (6) "euthanasia," pertaining to wildlife for competence on the first day after their graduation. Data were then analyzed. Of 3,320 students invited to participate, 556 responded to questions about animals in the wild. The AWE topic ranked as the most important was "veterinarians' duties to wild animals," followed by "euthanasia." Senior students ranked "euthanasia" as the most important topic. The rankings of "methods and justification for wild animal use" and "tension between animal welfare and environmental concerns" were significantly less important for students in the later years of study than for those in early years. Male respondents ranked "euthanasia" as more important than female respondents did, especially in later years of study. Senior veterinary students ranked "euthanasia" as the most important AWE topic for day one competency.

Telling their own stories: Encouraging veterinary students to ethically reflect

BACKGROUND

Veterinary practice raises complex and unique professional ethical dilemmas. There is increasing discussion of how best to deliver ethics education to veterinary students, so that they are fully prepared to address ethical conflicts in professional practice. This paper proposes the use of innovative methods to allow students to share and reflect on their own experiences of ethical dilemmas.

METHODS

Two innovations are described. The first is formal and compulsory, and involves a small-group facilitated session for final year students, wholly designed around student dilemmas. The second is informal and voluntary, and constitutes a short-story writing competition.

RESULTS

The methods described are conducive to student engagement in ethics and ethical reflection.

CONCLUSION

Veterinary schools should consider adopting student-led techniques, deliberately designed to allow students to tell their own stories. Similar methods could also be adapted for use in clinical practice, thereby creating opportunities for professional dialogue on ethical dilemmas.

Social License and Animal Welfare: Developments from the Past Decade in Australia

"Social license to operate" (SLO) refers to the implicit process by which a community gives an industry approval to conduct its current business activities. It has become an important focus for many natural resource management fields (especially mining), but there is less awareness of its role in animal use industries. This article describes how animal welfare has recently become arguably the most crucial consideration underpinning the SLO for Australian animal use industries. It describes several industries in Australia that have faced animal welfare scrutiny in the past decade (2010-2020) to illustrate how persistent issues can erode SLO, lead to regulatory bans, and decimate previously profitable industries. Industries described include the live export of livestock, greyhound and horse racing, kangaroo harvesting, and dairy and sheep farming. In these cases, there has been intense public discourse but little scholarly progress. This article examines factors that may have contributed to these developments and suggests approaches that may assist these industries in maintaining their SLO. Animal welfare has become a mainstream societal concern in Australia, and effective management of the community's expectations will be essential for the maintenance of SLO for many animal use industries.

Review of the Online One Welfare Portal: Shared Curriculum Resources for Veterinary Undergraduate Learning and Teaching in Animal Welfare and Ethics

This article introduces the online One Welfare learning and teaching portal (OWP) and describes its development, use, importance and relevance to animal welfare and ethics (AWE) stakeholders. As animal welfare issues increase in importance, veterinarians must be trained to lead the science that underpins AWE discourses. The OWP is a collection of resources designed to engage and challenge veterinary science students as they become advocates for animals. It was developed collaboratively by all eight veterinary schools in Australia and New Zealand, and funded by the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. Surveys to investigate the attitudes of students and educators to AWE issues in six context-specific themes based on the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS) (companion animals; animals used in research and teaching; livestock/production animals; animals used for sport, recreation or display; animals in the wild and aquatic animals) were administered through all participating schools. Students assigned more importance to Day One competence in knowledge of welfare concepts than did educators for the following groups: production animals, companion animals, animals in the wild, aquatic animals, animals used in research and teaching, and animals used for sport, recreation or display (all p < 0.01). Agreement between educators and students was closer regarding the importance of Day One competence for euthanasia for all six context-specific themes (p < 0.01 - 0.03). Students assigned more importance than educators to social, economic and cultural drivers of welfare outcomes in production animals (p < 0.01); slaughter and preslaughter inspections in production animals (p < 0.01); animal abuse and hoarding in companion animals (p < 0.01); shelter medicine in companion animals (p < 0.01); disaster preparedness in wildlife animals (p < 0.01); pain and distress caused by fishing in aquatic animals (p < 0.01); conscientious objection related to animals held for research and teaching (p < 0.01); behaviour, selection and training of animals used for sport, recreation and display (p = 0.046) and educating the public around sporting animal welfare (p < 0.01). Agreement between educators and students was closer for strategies to address painful husbandry procedures in production animals (p = 0.03); behaviour and training of companion animals (p = 0.03); veterinarians' duties to wild animals in wildlife (p = 0.02); the 3Rs in animals held for research and teaching (p = 0.03) and ownership responsibility in sporting animals (p = 0.01). This report discusses the reasons for differences among students and educators as they approach these issues. The portal is expected to gather more content as veterinary schools in other countries use its resources and users submit scenarios and discussion topics that reflect local needs.

Australian and New Zealand Veterinary Students' Opinions on Animal Welfare and Ethical Issues Concerning Animal Use within Sport, Recreation, and Display

Animals used for sport, recreation and display are highly visible and can divide community attitudes. The study of animal welfare and ethics (AWE) as part of veterinary education is important because it is the responsibility of veterinarians to use their scientific knowledge and skills to promote animal welfare in the context of community expectations. To explore the attitudes of veterinary students in Australia and New Zealand to AWE, a survey of the current cohort was undertaken. The survey aimed to reveal how veterinary students in Australia and New Zealand rate the importance of five selected AWE topics for Day One Competences in animals used in sport, recreation and display and to establish how veterinary students' priorities were associated with gender and stage of study. The response rate (n = 851) across the seven schools was just over 25%. Results indicated little variation on ratings for topics. The topics were ranked in the following order (most to least important): Pushing of animals to their physiologic/behavioral limits; ownership/responsibility; euthanasia; educating the public; and behavior, selection, and training for sport and recreation displays. In contrast to related studies, ratings were not associated with stage of study and there were few differences associated with gender. More females rated the pushing of animals to physiologic/behavioral limits as extremely important than did males ( p < .001). The role of veterinarians in advocating for and educating the public about the welfare of animals used in sport, recreation and display merits further discussion.

Educators' Perspectives on Animal Welfare and Ethics in the Australian and New Zealand Veterinary Curricula

The current study was designed to explore the importance that veterinary science educators in Australian and New Zealand universities assign to animal welfare and ethics (AWE) topics as Day One/Initial Competences for new graduates. An online questionnaire was deployed in parallel with an equivalent study of veterinary science students at these educators' schools. Responses were received from 142 educators (51% females n=72 and 49% males n=70), representing an overall participation rate of 25%. Questions were clustered according to seven areas of veterinary employment: general practice, production animals, companion animals, wild animals, aquatic animals, animals kept for scientific purposes, and animals used in sport and recreation. The most highly rated topics for each of these clusters were: professional ethics in general practice, euthanasia in companion animals, strategies to address painful husbandry procedures in production animals, veterinarians' duties to wild animals in animals in the wild, aquatic animal health and welfare issues in aquatic animals; competence in the 3Rs (replacement, refinement and reduction) in animals kept for scientific purposes, and responsibilities of ownership in sport and recreation. Female educators rated many of the topics as significantly more important than did their male counterparts. Educators teaching one or more ethics-related subjects were less likely to rate neutering and euthanasia as important as those not teaching these subjects. The educators' focus on practical issues clashes with a perceived need for veterinarians to actively embrace animal ethics. Overall, the perspectives of these educators should be carefully considered as they are likely to influence student attitudes.

Welfare-Adjusted Life Years (WALY): A novel metric of animal welfare that combines the impacts of impaired welfare and abbreviated lifespan

Currently, separate measures are used to estimate the impact of animal diseases on mortality and animal welfare. This article introduces a novel metric, the Welfare-Adjusted Life Year (WALY), to estimate disease impact by combining welfare compromise and premature death components. Adapting the Disability-Adjusted Life Year approach used in human health audits, we propose WALY as the sum of a) the years lived with impaired welfare due to a particular cause and b) the years of life lost due to the premature death from the same cause. The years lived with impaired welfare are the product of the average duration of each welfare impediment, reflecting the actual condition that compromises animal welfare, the probability of an incident case developing and impaired welfare weights, representing the degree of impaired welfare. The years of life lost are calculated using the standard expected lifespan at the time of premature death. To demonstrate the concept, we estimated WALYs for 10 common canine diseases, namely mitral valve disease, dilated cardiomyopathy, chronic kidney disease, diabetes mellitus, atopic dermatitis, splenic haemangiosarcoma, appendicular osteosarcoma, cranial cruciate ligament disease, thoracolumbar intervertebral disc disease and cervical spondylomyelopathy. A survey of veterinarians (n = 61) was conducted to elicit impaired welfare weights for 35 welfare impediments. Paired comparison was the primary method to elicit weights, whereas visual analogue scale and time trade-off approaches rescaled these weights onto the desired scale, from 0 (the optimal welfare imaginable) to 1 (the worst welfare imaginable). WALYs for the 10 diseases were then estimated using the impaired welfare weights and published epidemiological data on disease impacts. Welfare impediment “amputation: one limb” and “respiratory distress” had the lowest and highest impaired welfare weights at 0.134 and 0.796, rescaled with a visual analogue scale, and 0.117 and 0.857, rescaled with time trade-off. Among the 10 diseases, thoracolumbar intervertebral disc disease and atopic dermatitis had the smallest and greatest adverse impact on dogs with WALYs at 2.83 (95% UI: 1.54–3.94) and 9.73 (95% uncertainty interval [UI]: 7.17–11.8), respectively. This study developed the WALY metric and demonstrated that it summarises welfare compromise as perceived by humans and total impact of diseases in individual animals. The WALY can potentially be used for prioritisation of disease eradication and control programs, quantification of population welfare and longitudinal surveillance of animal welfare in companion animals and may possibly be extended to production animals.

Ranking of Production Animal Welfare and Ethics Issues in Australia and New Zealand by Veterinary Students

The importance of animal welfare and ethics (AWE) within the veterinary education should reflect community concerns and expectations about AWE, and the professional demands of veterinary accreditation on the first day of practice (or ‘Day One’ competences). Currently, much interest and debate surrounds the treatment of production animals, particularly around live export. To explore the attitudes to AWE of veterinary students in Australia and New Zealand, a survey was undertaken to (i) understand what students consider important AWE topics for initial production animal competence; and (ii) ascertain how these priorities correlated with gender, area of intended practice and stage-of-study. The results from 575 veterinary students showed that all students ranked strategies to address painful husbandry procedures as the most important issues on their first day in production animal practice. Additionally, it was found that the importance students assigned to an understanding of human–animal interactions declined as they progressed through the veterinary course. In contrast, the importance of an understanding of euthanasia issues for production animals increased for male students as they progressed through the course, and remained consistently high in females. Females also gave higher ranking to the importance of understanding production animal stress associated with transport, and ranked strategies to address painful husbandry procedures more important than did males. These findings should help the development of AWE teaching resources that address students’ attitudes and competence and that can be delivered when students are most receptive.

Application of Fraser's "Practical" Ethic in Veterinary Practice, and Its Compatibility with a "One Welfare" Framework

Ethically challenging situations are common in veterinary practice, and they may be a source of moral stress, which may in turn impact the welfare of veterinarians. Despite recognition of the importance of ethical reasoning, some veterinary students may struggle to apply theoretical ethical frameworks. Fraser developed a “practical” ethic consisting of four principles that can be applied to ethically challenging situations. We apply Fraser’s “practical” ethic to three cases that veterinarians may encounter: animal hoarding, animal neglect, and treatment of wildlife. We argue that Fraser’s “practical” ethic is consistent with a One Welfare framework, and may have increasing currency for veterinarians in the light of the World Animal Health Organisation’s Global Animal Welfare Strategy. Both Fraser’s “practical” ethic and a One Welfare framework require veterinarians to consider the impacts of animal ethics decisions on a broader scale than most other ethical frameworks have prepared them for. We discuss the strengths and limitations of Fraser’s “practical” ethic when applied in veterinary contexts and recommend additional support and training to enable veterinarians to effectively apply these frameworks in real-world settings.