Vetnuus | May 2026 27 Article >>>28 Working with companion animals was independently associated with positive attitudes towards human euthanasia. As our study is crosssectional, we do not know if there is a causal relationship in this association. Further, this is a quite novel finding, and qualitative studies could elaborate further on the possible influence of animal euthanasia on veterinarians. Actually, veterinarians in companion animal practice have described viewing euthanasia as an ‘act of compassion’, in which the goal is facilitating a ‘good death’ [34]. This might be in contrast to the work of veterinarians working with production animals, where financial considerations would more often lead to animals being slaughtered and not euthanised. The role that these factors might play in attitudes towards euthanasia in humans needs further exploration. Crude Adjusted OR 95% CI OR 95% CI Female (ref. = male) 1.46* 1.21 – 1.75 1.02 0.82 – 1.26 Age 0.86* 0.83 – 0.89 0.87* 0.83 – 0.91 Single (ref. = having a partner) 1.38* 1.13 – 1.69 1.35* 1.10 – 1.67 Main field of work (ref. = mixed clinic* al practice) Companion animals 1.69 1.27 – 2.23 1.66* 1.23 – 2.23 Production animals 0.85 0.58 – 1.25 1.04 0.69 – 1.56 Equine practice 1.16 0.73 – 1.83 1.29 0.80 – 2.09 Aquaculture 1.10 0.71 – 1.69 1.07 0.69 – 1.67 Public administration 0.83 0.61 – 1.14 0.98 0.70 – 1.35 Academia/research 1.15 0.79 – 1.66 1.35 0.92 – 1.98 Other 0.96 0.68 – 1.36 1.07 0.74 – 1.53 Frequency of euthanasia (ref. 0–4/week) 5 or more/week 1.42 0.95 – 2.11 1.32 0.88 – 2.00 Crude Adjusted OR 95% CI OR 95% CI Female (ref. = male) 1.55 0.999 – 2.401 1.30 0.78 – 2.18 Age 0.93 0.86 – 1.00 0.95 0.86 – 1.04 Single (ref. = having a partner) 2.38* 1.65 – 3.43 2.11* 1.42 – 3.15 Positive attitudes towards euthanasia in humans (ref. = disagree/indecisive) 2.68* 1.79 – 4.02 2.00* 1.29 – 3.09 Working hours 1.00 0.99 – 1.02 1.00 0.99 – 1.02 Main field of work (ref. = mixed clinical practice) Companion animals 1.38 0.74 – 2.57 1.39 0.69 – 2.81 Production animals 1.28 0.56 – 2.94 1.57 0.62 – 3.95 Equine practice 1.21 0.45 – 3.28 1.40 0.48 – 4.07 Aquaculture 1.01 0.37 – 2.73 1.20 0.42 – 3.42 Public administration 1.08 0.53 – 2.20 1.43 0.63 – 3.21 Academia/research 1.12 0.49 – 2.56 1.24 0.49 – 3.11 Other 0.82 0.35 – 1.91 0.88 0.34 – 2.33 Colleague support 0.64* 0.57 – 0.71 0.63* 0.56 – 0.72 Frequency of euthanasia (ref. 0–4/week) 5 or more/week 2.48* 1.38 – 4.46 2.56* 1.35 – 4.87 Table 3: Variables associated with positive attitudes towards human euthanasia N = 2222 * p < 0.05 Table 4:Variables associated with serious suicidal thoughts From: Euthanasia of animals – association with veterinarians’ suicidal thoughts and attitudes towards assisted dying in humans: a nationwide cross-sectional survey (the NORVET study) N = 2083 *p < 0.05
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