Scratchings-and-Sniffings |
| Posted: 17 Aug 2009 11:08 AM PDT
Of course there are many ways to decrease the numbers of unwanted animals and we've discussed them all on the pages of the blog. We can spay and neuter at an early age. We can keep cats indoors and we can support trap and neuter programs for feral cats. We can teach basic obedience so bad behavior does not become the reason for giving up a pet. We should do all these things and even if we do, we'll still have a problem, albeit a smaller problem. But that's not the point of this post. Yvonne got an e-mail from a reader about a subject that doesn't get talked about much. What about healthy animals? Of course many healthy animals are euthanized at animal shelters every day due to simple overcrowding, but what about at veterinary clinics? Should veterinarians euthanize a healthy pet at the request of the owner? I searched the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) web sites for guidance on the issue. I didn't come up with much. The AVMA has a 30 page document on the subject of euthanasia but it is mostly about acceptable practices. How to do it humanely. The AVMA acknowledges that there is an ethical issue around euthanizing healthy animals but they don't address it in this publication. Typical for what is essentially a political organization. The AAHA has a brief position paper that states they "support veterinarians who may refuse euthanasia of a healthy animal for the convenience of the owners." While the AAHA statement provides direction, the decision on this issue is left to the individual veterinarian. There is a fair amount of debate around this issue within the profession. It comes up on professional discussion boards from time to time and there is even a term for this in the debate; "convenience" euthanasia. The general consensus among veterinarians that comment on this topic is that they will refuse to perform this procedure upon request for the convenience of the client. They counsel on adoption through a humane organization as the first option. Veterinarians that indicate that they will perform euthanasia at the client's request usually offer this argument. They feel that if they don't do it the client may resort to simply dumping the animal or, even worse, doing it themselves. Dumping unwanted animals in the hopes that they can survive on their own or that some other person will come to their rescue is more common than we would like to think. Some veterinarians may feel that if they control the situation then they are at least assured of a humane outcome. When I was in practice I did not do any euthanasia that was not medically indicated for humane reasons. That was Darcie's fate in the end and it was still a tough decision for us. There is no question that euthanasia has its place as an option when pain and suffering cannot be mitigated. In the case of otherwise healthy animals it becomes an ethical decision for the individual practitioner. I hesitate to make a blanket statement condemning this practice because you never know the exact situation. I do, however, tend to agree with my friend Bill Craig who practiced in San Antonio for 30 years and puts it this way, "I got into this profession to heal sick animals not to end the life of a healthy animal." I think most veterinarians would agree with that sentiment. |
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