de Boo J, Knight A. Overcoming Conservatism: Educating Veterinarians about Animal Welfare. Paper presented at: Alternatives in the Mainstream: Innovations in Life Science Education and Training. 2nd InterNICHE Conference; 2005 May 12-15; Oslo, Norway


Abstract

The veterinary profession has its origins in agriculture, assisting farmers to maximise the production and profitability of their animals. In developed countries increasing social affluence has allowed expenditure on companion animals to rise to the point where the majority of contemporary veterinarians work almost entirely with these species. Social attitudes towards animal welfare have similarly developed and are reflected in the evolving attitudes of veterinarians, assisted by the marked feminisation in the last decade of a previously male-dominated profession. Nevertheless, the authors’ surveys of the world’s leading national veterinary associations reveal that official veterinary positions lag behind those of the general public on a range of important animal welfare issues, including the close confinement of veal calves in small crates, of laying hens in battery cages, and of pregnant sows in gestation crates. Formal veterinary education is the factor most responsible for these shortcomings. Although humane alternatives are being introduced, harmful animal use in surgical and preclinical training remains commonplace in veterinary courses worldwide, and studies have demonstrated that veterinary students are likely to view animals as being less sentient towards the end of their veterinary education, suggesting a process of desensitisation. Animal welfare, bioethics, critical reasoning and related topics comprise a very small part of most veterinary curricula. The ‘Concepts in Animal Welfare Syllabus’ launched in 2003 by the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the School of Clinical Veterinary Science at the University of Bristol was created to address these shortcomings. It provides training in critical reasoning skills and education about a range of animal welfare issues, including farm and companion animal welfare, wildlife, animals used in experiments, and alternatives which replace, reduce and refine animal use in research and education.