1 March 2023
Ethicists’ commentary on medicine for geriatric zoo animals
Ethical question of the month, December 2022
In zoo animal medicine, the timing of humane euthanasia for quality-of-life issues is an ethical challenge. Should we engage in “therapeutic relentlessness” on captive wild animals which have surpassed their wild conspecifics longevity and are not necessarily able to appropriately communicate their welfare level, especially regarding chronic pain? How much should we allow the patient to self-care and self-heal knowing that every human intervention is — usually — a great source of stress to the animal?
Clare Palmer, Peter Sandøe, & Dan Weary comment on this dilemma and you can read it here: Ethicists’ commentary on medicine for geriatric zoo animals (pdf)