Preliminary Exploration of Swine Veterinarian Perspectives of On-Farm Euthanasia

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Euthanasia is an essential management tool used on livestock operations to alleviate animal suffering. Despite the fact that caretakers who work closely with animals recognize the value of euthanasia, ending an animal’s life remains a difficult task. On swine operations, veterinarians often do not perform day-to-day euthanasia but as animal health and well-being experts, veterinarians should be integral in euthanasia protocol development, training, and execution. Although the importance of euthanasia training is recognized, there is still opportunity within the swine industry to ensure all employees are properly trained. It is evident that there is also a need to provide additional training to veterinarians as integral components of the veterinary school curriculum and continuing education programming. Logistical factors are noted as challenges to proper and timely euthanasia and need to be addressed. Additionally, as the impact that euthanasia can have on caretaker and veterinarian mental well-being becomes more recognized in the livestock industries, it is crucial to incorporate strategies for coping with the moral stress of having to perform euthanasia into training protocols, as currently this is not broadly addressed. ABSTRACT: Euthanasia is a critical component in swine production and veterinarians play an important role in euthanasia protocol development and training. This study aimed to understand veterinarian involvement in and perspectives on euthanasia on pig farms. An online survey was disseminated both at a pig welfare conference and online via a veterinarian e-newsletter. Twenty-five veterinarians participated in the survey. The majority of respondents indicated that caretakers are the individuals making euthanasia decisions and performing the task (n = 17, 68% and 22, 88%, respectively). The majority (22, 88%) of respondents indicated that most of the facilities with which they work have a written euthanasia protocol, and 72% (18) indicated that they assisted in protocol development. Only half of respondents (13, 52%) agreed that “all employees performing euthanasia have been trained adequately”, and 80% (20) identified an interest in delivering more training. Less than half the respondents indicated that strategies for coping with “personal stress” and “emotional wellness” (12, 48%) were included in euthanasia training. While the moral stress of performing euthanasia is recognized, there is opportunity for addressing mental well-being in euthanasia resources. Although preliminary, this study supports the need for further euthanasia training on-farm, involving veterinarians in the process.