scholarly journals 317 Survey of veterinary student attitudes toward animal welfare and pain

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 7-7
Author(s):  
Miriam S Martin ◽  
Angela Baysinger ◽  
Abbie Viscardi ◽  
Michael Kleinhenz ◽  
Lily Edwards-Callaway ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Veterinary Students ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Pain Scores ◽  
Veterinary Student ◽  
Ethics Course ◽  
Veterinary School ◽  
Veterinary Curriculum

Abstract Discrepancies in the background and training of veterinarians regarding the painfulness of procedures across species may impact their decision to use analgesia. The objective of this study was to investigate veterinary student attitudes toward pain and animal welfare. An electronic survey instrument was developed to assess demographic information, perceptions of animal welfare, concern with specific animal welfare issues, and estimation of pain scores on a scale of 1–10 for certain procedures and conditions. A subset of 131 responses from veterinary students were analyzed from an ongoing study involving 14 colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States and Canada. Results suggest that females believed more strongly that an animal welfare and ethics course should be part of the veterinary curriculum than males (P = 0.03). Respondent preparedness to discuss certain welfare topics differed based on background (farm/ranch, rural or urban community) (P ≤ 0.03) and year of veterinary school (P ≤ 0.02). Respondent willingness to administer pain management also differed by background (P = 0.04). Whether respondents had observed a veterinarian in practice properly administer pain medication to a food animal also differed by area of interest, background, and year in veterinary school (P ≤ 0.03). Assigned pain scores for bovine dystocia, bovine acute metritis, canine tail docking and porcine castration also differed by background (P ≤ 0.03). These data show that gender, background and the year of veterinary school should be considered when developing and standardizing the delivery of animal welfare topics across the veterinary curriculum.

scholarly journals Influence of socio-demographic and experiential factors on the attitudes of Croatian veterinary students towards farm animal welfare

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 417-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ostovic ◽  
T. Mikus ◽  
Z. Pavicic ◽  
K. Matkovic ◽  
Z. Mesic
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Farm Animal ◽  
Farm Animal Welfare ◽  
Veterinary Students ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Study Programme ◽  
Veterinary Student

The aim of this study was to examine the factors influencing the attitudes of veterinary students in Croatia toward farm animal welfare. The survey was carried out at the only faculty of veterinary medicine in Croatia and included students from all years of the integrated undergraduate and graduate study programme. The response rate was 91% (n = 505 subjects). According to the socio-demographic and experiential factors observed, females, students in their initial years of study, younger students with urban backgrounds, non-religious/non-spiritual students and vegetarians, and those intending to work with companion animals expressed more concerned attitudes regarding farm animal welfare (all P < 0.05). The type of secondary school completed, family monthly income and previous experience with farm or pet animals had no impact on student attitudes. The results of the study point to a variety of factors influencing veterinary student attitudes towards farm animal welfare. A recognition of these factors can contribute considerably to increasing student awareness of farm animal welfare. These results provide a basis for further research into the factors influencing veterinary attitudes to animal welfare and the complexity of their interactions.

Hand-Held Point-of-Care Ultrasound: A New Tool for Veterinary Student Self-Driven Learning in the time of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. e20200131
Author(s):  
Zoë J. Williams ◽  
Abby Sage ◽  
Stephanie J. Valberg
Keyword(s):  
Point Of Care ◽  
Present Report ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Point Of Care Ultrasound ◽  
Veterinary Students ◽  
Clinical Rotations ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Veterinary Student

The coronavirus pandemic abruptly halted all in-person clerkships, or clinical rotations, for clinical veterinary students across the United States (US). Online clerkships in radiology offered the opportunity to expand the student’s ability to interpret medical images but did not allow for the development of physical hands-on imaging skills recognized as core competencies in veterinary medicine. The present report highlights the value of providing veterinary students with a smartphone-associated Butterfly iQ point-of-care ultrasound during a 3-week self-driven virtual clerkship. During the virtual rotation, the student was able to develop the skills required to generate sufficient quality images using three horses residing on her property. The affordability, portability, ease of use of the Butterfly iQ and availability of animals made it possible to develop hands-on imaging skills when distance learning was required.

scholarly journals 321 Socio-demographic factors associated with attitudes towards animals among first-year veterinary students

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 5-6
Author(s):  
Jesse Robbins ◽  
Rebecca Parsons ◽  
Anna Johnson ◽  
Matthew Jorgensen ◽  
Jared Danielson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Veterinary Students ◽  
Animal Mind ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors

Abstract Veterinarians are seen as experts in matters relating to animal welfare and ethics. However, relatively little is known about veterinary students’ attitudes and beliefs towards animals. To begin to address this gap, we surveyed the freshman class of veterinary students at a major U.S. veterinary college (n = 125) to examine their views on the ethics of various forms of animal use, their beliefs about the extent to which different species are capable of experiencing emotions (AKA ‘belief in animal mind’) and their beliefs about the degree to which humans and non-human animals are similar. The 20-item attitudes towards animal scale showed high internal consistency (a = 0.91, CI95 [95% Confidence Interval] 0.89, 0.93). Preliminary multiple regression analyses indicated female (vs male) students held more positive attitudes toward animals (b = 0.35, P = .005). Growing up in a household where animals were raised for food was associated with less positive attitudes (b = -0.30, P = .006). More liberal political ideology was associated with more positive attitudes towards animals (b = 0.17, P = < .0001). Female students also believed animals were capable of experiencing a greater diversity of emotions (b = 126.96, P = 0001). Neither socioeconomic status (P = 0.65) nor having a pet as a child (P = 0.12) were associated with attitudes towards animals or belief in animal mind. However, childhood pet ownership was associated with greater perceived similarity between human and non-human animals (b = 1.38, P = 0.01). Subsequent analyses will assess whether taking a required, introductory course in animal welfare has any effect on these measures. Eventually these data could provide baseline information for longitudinal analyses exploring how student attitudes and beliefs about animals are affected as they progress through the veterinary curriculum.

Animal Welfare and Animal Rights

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 575-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Dolby ◽  
Annette Litster
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Professional Socialization ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Veterinary Education ◽  
Veterinary Students ◽  
The Public ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Ethical Complexity ◽  
Veterinary Curriculum

AbstractVeterinarians routinely position themselves as the professionals who are most knowledgeable about non-human animals, and the public turns to them for guidance in matters of animal health and welfare. However, as research indicates, there is a considerable gap between what the public thinks veterinarians know and the actual veterinary curriculum. This study investigates the perspectives of veterinary students towards issues of animal welfare and animal rights, based on the results of a 2012 survey. Results indicate that veterinary students have limited and narrow understandings of both concepts, and that their knowledge is shaped by their professional socialization in veterinary education. Despite the enormous ethical complexity and diversity of philosophical perspectives that are inherent to both animal welfare and animal rights positions, veterinary students typically are not adequately prepared for a career that is located at the very center of these debates.

scholarly journals Animal welfare and Ethics course for post-graduate at Veterinary School: how to improve assessment methodologies with a bottom up approach

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Ferrante ◽  
Simona Normando ◽  
Daniela Florio ◽  
Barbara De Mori
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Post Graduate ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Ethics Assessment ◽  
Ethics Course ◽  
Veterinary School ◽  
Ethical Component ◽  
Zoological Park

Animal Welfare, with its strong ethical component, is increasingly central to public debate and in all sectors dealing with animals has become a key expertise to acquire. This paper presents a post-graduate level course on animal welfare and ethics assessment delivered by the Veterinary School of Padua University, Italy. The course was delivered at Garda Zoological Park, Italy, allowing students to do an experience with wildlife in a peculiar management system. Teachers used an inquiry-based approach to lead students ‘construct’ their experience in welfare assessment. At the end of the course students, divided into groups, had to develop a protocol for the assessment of the animal welfare of a species in the zoo. The analysis of these final works and a pre-test and post-test questionnaires were used to assess the effectiveness of the course. Results highlighted a growing awareness of the complexity of assessment methodologies and more attention on animal based indicators. Students found difficulties using a bottom-up approach but were satisfied at the end of the course. Improvements can be done to promote reflections on reasons to assess animal welfare and its ethical component, on the utility of such assessment and on a balanced use of tools and methodologies.

scholarly journals Estimating mouse and rat use in American laboratories by extrapolation from Animal Welfare Act-regulated species

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry Carbone
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
The United States ◽  
Animal Research ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Laboratory Rats ◽  
Tier System ◽  
Western Nations ◽  
Rats And Mice ◽  
Usage Data

AbstractAlone among Western nations, the United States has a two-tier system for welfare protections for vertebrate animals in research. Because its Animal Welfare Act (AWA) excludes laboratory rats and mice (RM), government veterinarians do not inspect RM laboratories and RM numbers are only partially reported to government agencies1. Without transparent statistics, it is impossible to track efforts to reduce or replace these sentient animals’ use or to project government resources needed if AWA coverage were expanded to include them. I obtained annual RM usage data from 16 large American institutions and compared RM numbers to institutions’ legally-required reports of their AWA-covered mammals. RM comprised approximately 99.3% of mammals at these representative institutions. Extrapolating from 780,070 AWA-covered mammals in 2017–18, I estimate that 111.5 million rats and mice were used per year in this period. If the same proportion of RM undergo painful procedures as are publicly reported for AWA-covered animals, then some 44.5 million mice and rats underwent potentially painful experiments. These data inform the questions of whether the AWA needs an update to cover RM, or whether the NIH should increase transparency of funded animal research. These figures can benchmark progress in reducing animal numbers in general and more specifically, in painful experiments. This estimate is higher than any others available, reflecting the challenges of obtaining statistics without consistent and transparent institutional reports.

scholarly journals Medical Student Attitudes Toward Blood Donation in Times of Increased Need

2021 ◽  
pp. 000313482110110
Author(s):  
Rahima Khatun ◽  
Banan W. Otaibi ◽  
Anna Ssentongo ◽  
Joshua P. Hazelton ◽  
AmandaB. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Blood Donation ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Academic Institution ◽  
Donor Pool ◽  
Willingness To Donate

Background In situations of increased need, such as mass casualty incidents (MCIs) and COVID-19, donated blood products are in shortage across the United States. Medical students are a potential pool for blood donors. The aim of this study was to determine overall attitudes of medical students at a single academic institution toward blood donation during times of increased need. Methods Three anonymous REDCap surveys were administered to all medical students at a rural academic institution. Surveys 1 and 2 were administered preceding and after an institution-wide MCI drill, in September and November 2019, respectively. Survey 3 was administered following a student-organized COVID-19 blood drive in June 2020. Multivariable analysis was performed to determine if factors, ie, experience with MCI drills and emergency medical services (EMS) training, were associated with willingness to donate blood. Furthermore, barriers to donation among those not willing to donate were assessed. Results Overall response rate for MCI surveys (surveys 1 and 2) was 38% (mean age 25.2 years and 50% women). 91% (n = 210) of respondents were willing to donate blood. Previous participation in MCI drills and EMS training was not associated with higher willingness to donate blood. Response rate for survey 3 was 15.6% (59.4% women), and 30 (31.3%) respondents indicated they did not volunteer to donate blood during the COVID-19 drive. Most common reasons for not donating were “other,” medical concerns, and being out-of-town. Conclusions Majority of medical students are willing to donate blood during times of increased need and offer a possible solution to increase blood donor pool.

Animal Pain Scales in Public Policy

1990 ◽  
Vol 18 (1_part_1) ◽  
pp. 41-50
Author(s):  
F. Barbara Orlans
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pain Scale ◽  
Laboratory Animals ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Animal Pain ◽  
Pain Scales ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Control

Pain scales classify the severity of pain inflicted on laboratory animals from little or none up to severe. A pain scale as part of public policy serves beneficial purposes that promote animal welfare. It can be used to educate people about the two alternatives of refinement and replacement, and the need to reduce animal pain. Furthermore, a pain scale has practical applications: 1) in review procedures for animal welfare concerns; 2) in developing policies on the use of animals in education; and 3) as a basis for collecting national data on animal experimentation, so that meaningful data can be collected on trends in reduction and control in animal pain. So far, only a few countries (including Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada and New Zealand) have adopted pain scales as part of their public policy. Most countries, including the United States, have not yet done so. The history of the development and adoption of pain scales by various countries is described and the case is presented for wider adoption of a pain scale in countries not currently using one.

A Municipal Tail

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-436
Author(s):  
Sean McCaskill
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Municipal Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Colonial Era ◽  
State Expansion ◽  
Animal Control ◽  
Extension Of State

This project examines municipal animal control in Los Angeles between 1880 and 1909. It traces the emergence of municipal animal control from the confluence of animal welfare reform and progressive state expansion. The animal welfare movement in the United States began in the Colonial Era, but soon reflected the influence of changing attitudes in Europe and the rise of anti-cruelty reform movements after the Civil War. As Americans sought to create a better world out of the ashes of that war, many looked towards animal welfare. This movement occurred first on the East Coast, beginning with Henry Bergh’s founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in 1866, and reached Los Angeles by the end of the century. Many in that growing city viewed the dawn of the twentieth century with optimism, hoping for L.A.’s ascendancy into the ranks of the nation’s great metropolises. As a result, they began to look at the city’s problems through an increasingly progressive lens. Newspapers had covered the animal impoundment system’s brutality since the 1880s, but by the end of the century, they carried dramatic exposés of cruelties and corruption at the pound that emphasized connections to larger social issues. Citizens, including an impressive number of women, became activists for animal welfare. The municipal government responded by passing an ordinance that put animal control in the hands of the Humane Animal League, a private animal welfare organization. When the League failed to handle the city’s burgeoning animal population humanely and efficiently, the city assumed responsibility for animal control and created a municipal system. The emergence of municipal animal control in Los Angeles demonstrates a city turning to the extension of state power at the local level to create a more humane and efficient world for both its human and animal inhabitants.

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