Vetnuus | May 2026 23 Veterinarians may experience several challenges with Euthanising animals, both in decision-making and ethical considerations, and this could be a source of moral stress [15]. These challenges may be partly due to major developments in veterinary medicine and the fact that companion animals are often considered family members. Most studies investigating the impact of Euthanising animals have been conducted on companion animal veterinarians. Thus, the impact of euthanising other animal species, such as food-producing animals, is not well known. The three job stress factors—emotional demands, work-life balance and fear of complaints/criticism, and field of work—were not independently associated with serious suicidal thoughts among veterinarians in a previous study using the same sample of veterinarians as used in the present paper [16]. Nevertheless, veterinarians reported work factors as contributing to their suicidal thoughts. We suggested that there might be specific work factors for veterinarians that were not captured by the variables in the regression model used [16]. In the present paper, we therefore aimed to further investigate a work factor unique to veterinarians, namely animal euthanasia, and its possible association with both attitudes towards assisted dying and serious suicidal thoughts. One study among veterinarians found a positive correlation between attitudes towards human euthanasia and an accepting attitude towards human suicide [7]. Moreover, an association between animal euthanasia and a lack of fear of death among veterinary students has been demonstrated [17]. Among graduate veterinarians, lower distress towards Euthanising animals was associated with a lesser fear of death, in line with findings among veterinary students [18]. Conversely, frequently euthanising animals was shown to attenuate the impact of depression on suicide risk, suggesting that euthanasia may be a protective factor against suicide [19]. The aforementioned study was cross-sectional, hindering any conclusions about causality in their findings. However, the authors suggested three possible explanations for a protective effect of euthanasia of animals on suicide risk: 1) veterinarians experience the impact that death has upon loved ones (animal owners), 2) euthanasia highlights the finality of death, and 3) emotional transference through repeated exposure to gratitude and thankfulness from animal owners may buffer the negative affect of depression [19]. Self-poisoning is a common method of suicide among veterinarians [1, 2, 5, 20–22]. Barbiturates (the class of drug used for Euthanising animals) have been shown to be the most commonly used drug for self-poisoning [2, 23]. Therefore, we need to explore further the role of Euthanising animals in relation to veterinarians’ suicidal thoughts. Also, when investigating a possible association between animal euthanasia and serious suicidal thoughts, it is important to control for possible confounders, such as working hours and perceived colleague support. Working hours could be a confounder in the possible association between suicidal thoughts [24] and the frequency of animal euthanasia (more working hours could lead to a higher number of euthanasia procedures). Colleague support could be a confounder in the possible association between suicidal thoughts [25] and veterinarians’ frequency of Euthanising animals (lack of colleague support may lead to more euthanasia, as there is no one to consult). As mentioned, veterinarians are a high-risk occupational group for suicide. The possible association between animal euthanasia and attitudes towards assisted dying in humans and between animal euthanasia and suicidal thoughts is scarcely studied among veterinarians. Research on representative samples of veterinarians regarding both of these aspects and their possible interplay is lacking. Such research might contribute to a better understanding of the complexity of suicidality among veterinarians. To our knowledge, this is the first nationwide study with a large representative sample of veterinarians investigating whether the main field of work and frequency of Euthanising animals is associated with positive attitudes towards human euthanasia, and whether the frequency of Euthanising animals is associated with serious suicidal thoughts among veterinarians. We would expect a significantly positive association in both research questions 2 and 3. The research questions were as follows: 1. What are veterinarians’ attitudes towards physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia in humans? 2. Is the main field of work and veterinarians’ frequency of Euthanising animals associated with positive attitudes towards euthanasia in humans? 3. Is the frequency of veterinarians’ euthanising animals associated with serious suicidal thoughts? Methods The sample included all veterinarians in Norway, holding a valid authorisation in May 2020 (n = 4256), according to information retrieved from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, which is the national authority granting veterinary authorisation. We excluded some veterinarians based on the following criteria: no residential address in Norway (n = 527), unknown current address (n = 196), working abroad (n = 62), and those deceased (n = 7), resulting in an eligible sample of 3464 participants. A 12-page questionnaire, together with an information sheet and a pre-paid reply envelope, was distributed by mail to 3464 veterinarians in November 2020, with two reminders being sent in January and February. The questionnaire was in Norwegian, and it took between 15 and 30 min to complete. There was also a reminder in The Norwegian Veterinary Journal and on the webpage of the Norwegian Veterinary Association. Information about the Article >>>24 Figure 1: Definitions of assisted dying, physician-assisted suicide, and euthanasia
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