Faculty of Health and Medical Science

Columns for Canadian Veterinary Journal

Pictures of Clare Palmer, Peter Sandøe & Dan Weary The Veterinary Medical Ethics columns are made publicly available after an agreement between the authors and the Editorial committee of the Canadian Veterinary Journal.

The columns are written by Clare Palmer, Peter Sandøe, and Dan Weary and are published on a monthly basis. They are presented on this page after a 3-month embargo.

Owner and veterinary judgement

Ethicists’ commentary on weighing owner and veterinarian judgments on the best course of treatment

Ethical question of the month, March 2023 A client contacts you after a distressing incident in an emergency clinic with her 8-year-old English bulldog. The dog has some respiratory compromise typical of the breed but…

Ethicists’ commentary on expertise and personal views when advising clients

Ethical question of the month, February 2023 I’ve been asked by a client if getting into chicken farming is too risky given what’s happening with avian influenza. This client has inherited a farm that can hold up to 30…

Ethicists’ commentary on hierarchies of animal “value”

Ethical question of the month, January 2023 A recent media article on the needs of chimpanzees that are “so closely related to humans” caused me to reflect that people, including veterinarians, tend to ascribe more valu…

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…

Veterinary ethics

Ethicists’ commentary on fabricating the cause of death

Ethical question of the month, November 2022 Veterinary pathologists regularly encounter numerous cases in which a diagnosis cannot be determined. In one such case, a healthy, indoor-only, 12-year-old, neutered male,…

Veterinary ethics

Ethicists’ commentary on inappropriate home treatment

Ethical question of the month, October 2022 You are an ambulatory veterinarian who offers occasional service to a remote community. There is a rescue agency in the com- munity that uses the pro bono or deeply discounted…

Veterinary ethics

Ethicists’ commentary on provision of emergency services with a shortage of staff

Ethical question of the month, September 2022 Canada is facing a serious shortage of veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Recently, small animal emergency clinics have started closing overnight and weekends in some…

Ethicists’ commentary on post-surgical pain control

Ethical question of the month, August 2022 Your client purchases a young large-breed stallion that must be castrated on short notice. You are unable to do the surgery, so ask the client to find another veterinarian that…

Ethicists’ commentary on debarking of dogs

Ethical question of the month, July 2022 A provincial animal welfare agency has requested that the provincial Veterinary Registrar consider a ban on devocalization surgeries in dogs. Reasons for the request include…

Ethicists’ commentary on appropriate use of pharmaceuticals

Ethical question of the month, June 2022 You are an equine veterinarian who relies on firocoxib as your “go to” for chronic arthritis pain. There was no equine-labelled product in Canada until recently, so you were…