Ethics Week 5: Euthanasia and NEBVM Flashcards
Define euthanasia
Variable
“the direct or indirect bringing about of an early termination of a natural lifespan through a means that is not sensory harmful to an animal”
Why is euthanasia an ethical problem??
Utilitarian: interested in QoL and number of animals that are experiencing this. No concern over lifespan experienced by an individual - the individual is irrelevant
Deontological - the right to life and self-autnomy
Animal rights - fundamental (moral) right to life
Rule based utilitarianism that prevents harm to the individual (Harm principle)
Bentham - ‘if each animal is to count as one, an none to count as more than one, then all animals are equal to each other’
Lockwood/Singer - QoL is far more important than length of life
Is death a welfare issue?
Webster - ‘ being dead is no problem at all’
Greek Philospoher Epicurus founded the view that all death does is lead to a post-humous non-existence, which is of no more concern to thenon-being than the time before its birth:
1. Before death is not a negative state
2. After death is not a negative state
3. Death is a binary event
Therefore, 4. death is not a negative state and not a welfare issue
What are the ethical points concerning farm animal euthanasia/slaughter?
Welfarist view: if we are going to do things to animals, we must minimise the harm that comes to them (duty of care). This leads to our modern regulations of the killing of animals by schedule 1 methodsin labs or under WASK regulations. Is this sufficient?
Define IAAHPC
International Association of Animal Hospice and Palliative Care
It divides tough cases into two groups:
- ) animal is healthy or easily treated but client wants it put down
- ) the animal should be euthanised but the client doesn’t want this
How should horses be euthanised?
SHOOT: very traumatic for owner, horse will thrash on floor with brain injury, lots of blood, very rarely goes wrong with experienced slaughtermen (–> better for horse?)
INJECTION: smooth, very high chance of it going wrong and when it does go wrong, it goes very wrong.
Define NEBVM
Non-Evidence Based Veterinary Medicine
= any intervention that doesn’t have a rigorous evidence base to support its application to a medical protocol, also not known as the gold standard treatment.
Interestingly, the transition from the traditional midline cat spay to a flank cat spay is actually non-evidence based!
Define CAM
Complementary or Alternative Medicine
(e.g. homeopathy, acupuncture, reike, herbal)
Reike is the process of ‘laying on hands’ to promote healing through stress reduction and relaxation.
What should you remember about NEBVM and CAMs?
Anyone diagnosing/treating animals must be a vet
Treatment options cost time and money
Chance of product working is limited
Placebo effect much less likely in animals versus humans
Difference between pet owners and farmers
Consider witholding periods and drug interactions
Herbal - chances are it does something
Define alternative medicine
To use a non-medicinal compound as the sole agent in the treatment or management of a disorder in preference to an evidence based medicine.
Where there is a known therapy with a known outcome, known side-effects, known mode of action, known contra-indications, known efficacy with a demonstrable history then it must be used in preference to a therapy with an unknown outcome, unknown side-effects, unknown.
Define complementary medicine
As for alternative medicine but in conjunction with the evidence based medicine. The issues here lie in the unknown contra-indications and mode of action.
NEBVM - where do your duties lie? 3
o ANIMAL– your duty is to offer the gold standard treatment, only to be limited by client opinion if they have been given all information. If you don’t do this you fail ‘your constant endeavour to the welfare of the animals’
o CLIENT – owners want proof that what they are paying for will work. Treat animal in the most efficacious way, using your knowledge, and giving cheapest best option in terms of time and money. To do this is to fail your ‘uprightness of conduct’
o PROFESSION – to maintain the scientific nature of medicine and not cause doubt in mind of society of the validity of the veterinary profession, to accurately report back on the efficacy of treatments to the profession. To not do this is to fail in ‘promoting the interests of the profession’.
