Vetnews | Mei 2026 34 « BACK TO CONTENTS peer veterinarians who understand the struggles they endure, such as coping with end-of-life choices for the animals in their care. Bringing awareness that other animal health professionals share in the same struggles of depopulation and need support36 may cause veterinarians to ask, “What can I do?” These individuals can unify to embrace the mission of promoting the mental health and wellbeing of all individuals who work with animals. This effort requires building bridges and cultivating compassionate awareness across all veterinary contexts, whether it involves humane endings in a clinic, a research institution, or a farm. We, as a profession, can accomplish this by bringing awareness to the industry leaders and the public, as well as building resources for animal professionals. These efforts are supported by the work of the AVMA volunteers and staff concerned with animal welfare, animal and public health, and government relations. Together, these efforts can lead to improvements in one health and one welfare and a better understanding of veterinarians working in the numerous sectors of the profession. Provide practical resources to support veterinarians One concrete way to reduce negative psychological impacts on veterinarians is exploring ways to improve the welfare of all animals, including at the end of their lives. The AVMA’s Humane Endings Guidance documents2–4 provide structure and support for preparation, decision-making, and implementation of euthanasia, slaughter, and depopulation of animals. Likewise, the AVMA’s Steering Committee on Human-Animal Interactions created the Psychological Impacts of Humane Endings Working Group to provide a more focused approach to meeting the needs of veterinarians impacted by euthanasia, slaughter, and depopulation events. The practical resources and information created by the AVMA will be shared at a variety of continuing education conferences and through online platforms, including AVMA Axon and the AVMA’s Humane Endings Symposia. Symposia like this encourage crosscontext emphasis, sensitise the veterinary community to different realms of veterinary medicine, and allow an open dialogue within our community about the psychological challenges facing many in our profession. The 3rd Humane Endings Symposium, scheduled for January 2023, will continue to hold space for productive conversations around methods and caring for those engaging in these activities. Education in veterinary curricula and the clinical setting US urbanisation continues to increase, and since 1900, most people live in urban settings where children grow up without experiencing farm animals.37 Some children gain experience with animals in 4H and Future Farmers of America (FFA), with membership in FFA growing faster than student populations.38 Informing children about sources of their food and efforts to improve the welfare of farm animals is important. Thus, the continued support of some background in animal science is encouraged for individuals interested in the veterinary profession.39 Likewise, exposure of students at a young age to animals in research and comparative medicine has the potential to increase acceptance of animals’ utilisation in research as well as positive views on biomedical research and competence. Veterinary education related to humane endings can help meet the Council of Education accreditation requirements under section 7.11, standard 11. These competencies include anaesthesia and pain management (patient welfare), ethical and professional conduct (communication), emergency and intensive care case management, and critical analysis. However, current practising veterinarians report that the number of hours of euthanasia training delivered over the course of the US veterinary curriculum is insufficient,40 and the same is likely true of depopulation, slaughter, and other humane endings topics. These limited hours are largely dedicated to the technical delivery of humane endings and may only briefly mention the impact on the veterinarian’s mental health. There is little room to comprehensively address the vast subject of humane endings in the standard veterinary curriculum, including in the clinical years. This education should be prioritised under the directive that curricula continuously develop in the context of everchanging societal expectations.41 Education and training should also bring awareness that individuals other than veterinarians commonly perform depopulations and humane slaughter, and must acknowledge the need for improved training for these activities and the impact that they have on the mental health and well-being of other animal health professionals.42 To achieve the core competency of promoting the health and safety of people,43 veterinary educators’ responsibility should include directing these individuals to the appropriate mental health resources.36 Education in the mental health professions Education in the social sciences pertaining to the mental health needs of those involved in euthanasia or depopulation is still in its infancy. The Veterinary Social Work program at the University of Tennessee44 offers graduate and postgraduate certificates to mental health and animal-related professionals that can be earned primarily online. It provides one health–focused interdisciplinary education on the human needs that arise at the intersection of social work and veterinary practice. Program content includes education about grief and loss, compassion fatigue, and the moral stress associated with euthanasia, as well as depopulation. Certificate programs and undergraduate and graduate degrees related to human-animal interactions are still relatively uncommon, and most focus on animal-assisted therapy (e.g., Oakland University’s Animal-Assisted Intervention45 and the University of Denver’s Equine-Assisted Mental Health Practitioner Certificate Program).46 Many of these programs, such as the one in Animals and Society at the University of Colorado,47 include elements of ethical and moral concerns, yet none have a primary focus on how to help support veterinary professionals with the challenges of euthanasia and depopulation. When looking at more traditional undergraduate and graduate programs in psychology, social work, and counselling, there are numerous examples of programs that focus on grief and loss counselling related to human loss.48 These programs that teach mental health professionals how to support people coping with grief, loss, bereavement, and trauma could easily be adapted to encompass the needs of veterinary professionals. Another avenue for educating professionals to help veterinarians could be to make modifications in current pet loss grief support certifications.49 As their name implies, these programs focus on how to support pet owners; however, many of these techniques and skills could be modified to address veterinary professionals. For example, helping people navigate the complexities of the decision-making process Article
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