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Ethical and Practical Considerations Associated with Companion Animal Euthanasia
SIMPLE SUMMARY: Companion animal euthanasia is a common procedure in veterinary medicine, intended to end the life of an animal. Veterinarians must determine if the request for euthanasia is warranted or if other factors exist making the decision to euthanize inappropriate or objectionable. If eutha...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2023
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9913502/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36766319 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13030430 |
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author | Cooney, Kathleen Kipperman, Barry |
author_facet | Cooney, Kathleen Kipperman, Barry |
author_sort | Cooney, Kathleen |
collection | PubMed |
description | SIMPLE SUMMARY: Companion animal euthanasia is a common procedure in veterinary medicine, intended to end the life of an animal. Veterinarians must determine if the request for euthanasia is warranted or if other factors exist making the decision to euthanize inappropriate or objectionable. If euthanasia is a reasonable course of action, veterinarians must then decide when to euthanize, how to perform the procedure, and other details to protect the mental well-being of all stakeholders. If euthanasia is not elected, veterinarians must also decide how best to support their patient and client. ABSTRACT: The reality that euthanasia in veterinary practice can end animal suffering but can also be used in circumstances that do not serve an animal’s interest, can be a benefit for animals, and a burden for veterinary professionals, respectively. This essay addresses ethical and practical concerns associated with companion animal euthanasia, including defining euthanasia, why and when euthanasia should be performed, applying euthanasia in practice, contemporary methods, aftercare of deceased animals, and the consequences of euthanasia and dysthanasia for animals, animal owners, and veterinary professionals. We contend that an intention-based definition of euthanasia should be strictly applied in veterinary practice and that practitioners view euthanasia decisions as requests that can (and in some cases should) be declined, rather than as mandates. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-9913502 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-99135022023-02-11 Ethical and Practical Considerations Associated with Companion Animal Euthanasia Cooney, Kathleen Kipperman, Barry Animals (Basel) Commentary SIMPLE SUMMARY: Companion animal euthanasia is a common procedure in veterinary medicine, intended to end the life of an animal. Veterinarians must determine if the request for euthanasia is warranted or if other factors exist making the decision to euthanize inappropriate or objectionable. If euthanasia is a reasonable course of action, veterinarians must then decide when to euthanize, how to perform the procedure, and other details to protect the mental well-being of all stakeholders. If euthanasia is not elected, veterinarians must also decide how best to support their patient and client. ABSTRACT: The reality that euthanasia in veterinary practice can end animal suffering but can also be used in circumstances that do not serve an animal’s interest, can be a benefit for animals, and a burden for veterinary professionals, respectively. This essay addresses ethical and practical concerns associated with companion animal euthanasia, including defining euthanasia, why and when euthanasia should be performed, applying euthanasia in practice, contemporary methods, aftercare of deceased animals, and the consequences of euthanasia and dysthanasia for animals, animal owners, and veterinary professionals. We contend that an intention-based definition of euthanasia should be strictly applied in veterinary practice and that practitioners view euthanasia decisions as requests that can (and in some cases should) be declined, rather than as mandates. MDPI 2023-01-27 /pmc/articles/PMC9913502/ /pubmed/36766319 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13030430 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Commentary Cooney, Kathleen Kipperman, Barry Ethical and Practical Considerations Associated with Companion Animal Euthanasia |
title | Ethical and Practical Considerations Associated with Companion Animal Euthanasia |
title_full | Ethical and Practical Considerations Associated with Companion Animal Euthanasia |
title_fullStr | Ethical and Practical Considerations Associated with Companion Animal Euthanasia |
title_full_unstemmed | Ethical and Practical Considerations Associated with Companion Animal Euthanasia |
title_short | Ethical and Practical Considerations Associated with Companion Animal Euthanasia |
title_sort | ethical and practical considerations associated with companion animal euthanasia |
topic | Commentary |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9913502/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36766319 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13030430 |
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