Austrian Veterinarians’ Attitudes to Euthanasia in Equine Practice

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Euthanasia of companion animals is a challenging responsibility in the veterinary profession. Convenience euthanasia, over-treatment of animals, and financial limitations often present challenging situations in veterinary practice. Only a few empirical investigations have been published which concentrate on the horse owner’s perspective on euthanasia in equine practice. Data findings on veterinarians’ attitudes toward euthanasia in equine medicine are even scarcer. To this end, an anonymous questionnaire-based survey of Austrian equine veterinarians’ examines 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. 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, e.g., gender and working experience emerged, the attitudes of the veterinarians were shown to be largely shared. We conclude that 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 in equine practice. ABSTRACT: 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.