Guest lecture - shelter vet med ethics & wildlife shelters

Ethics of shelter veterinary medicine

• vets have high work intensity

• long working hours

• feeling undervalued by management

• Anxiety about performance

• Vets are more likely to die be suicide

• The super vet effect - believes that animal and human care should be one

• Gold standard care - every animal has best most cutting edge treatments. if something can be done it should be done.

• Contextualised care - Takes into account animal and owner circumstance and looks for best solution for the individual situation.

• Shelter medicine is often taught as a module in their course

• The decision maker changes, stress management changes, euthanasia changes

• financial constraints lead to animals being relinquished (including vet costs)