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.

Ethicists’ commentary on obtaining hormones from pregnant mares

Ethical question of the month, May 2022 Pregnant Mare Serum Gonadotropin (PMSG) is used in farmed animal agriculture for the induction and synchronization of ovulation in cattle, pigs and sheep, superovulation in cattle…

Ethicists’ commentary on nutritional neglect

Ethical question of the month, April 2022 A colleague refers an 11-year-old German shepherd dog to you for a cardiac ultrasound examination. The dog has a history of ascites and elevated resting respiratory rate. The…

Ethicists’ commentary on humane killing of healthy surplus animals

Ethical question of the month, March 2022 The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) position statement on the Care of Neonatal Calves on Dairy Farms states that euthanasia/humane killing of surplus calves is th…

Ethicists’ commentary on treating animals without payment or without owners

Ethical question of the month, February 2022 You manage a multi-doctor practice in a low-income area of a city. You have accepted many animals that have been hit by cars; however, these animals are never claimed, or…

Ethicist’s commentary on respiratory issues of brachycephalic dog breeds

Ethical question of the month, January 2022 You are the owner of a multi-veterinarian companion animal practice. All your staff have firsthand experience with the deaths of brachiocephalic dogs due to respiratory…

Ethicist’s commentary on use of Ventilation Shut Down

Ethical question of the month, December 2021 Ventilation Shut Down (VSD) and VSD 1 (the plus is the addition of heat or CO2) is a mass depopulation method employed in barns in “constrained circumstances” by the poultry…

A veterinary issue that triggers a public health issue

Ethical question of the month, November 2021 A strictly indoor cat is presented by its owner with the help of a member of a shelter. It has a mass, presumed to be an abscess, on one side of its neck. The mass is drained…

Unauthorized practice

Ethical question of the month, October 2021 You attend to a pregnant mare at 8 mo gestation. The mare was bred through live cover to a local stallion. The owner is a client of the practice, but the mare has not been…

Colleague suspected of illegal behavior

Ethical question of the month, September 2021 You provide regular 1 day per week locum services to a solo small animal veterinarian. You receive a call from the Registrar of the provincial veterinary regulator. With no…

Veterinarians’ course of treatment based on financial concerns

Ethical question of the month, August 2021 You are an employee of a veterinary hospital with strict billing protocols. If a treatment is deemed necessary to avoid unnecessary suffering or death then an estimate is…