Animal Welfare in Veterinary Practice

A practical guide to help veterinarians improve the welfare of their patients in their everyday work. A concise and accessible introduction to welfare that is both interesting and valuable in practice.

The book describes ways to evaluate patients, develop in-practice quality of life assessments, resolve difficult clinical dilemmas, and turn good decisions into real welfare outcomes. It reviews available scientific information, legal issues and ethical dilemmas, and relates these to everyday case studies throughout. It provides ways for all veterinary professionals to develop their animal welfare understanding, without assuming prior knowledge, while advancing the wisdom and abilities of experienced practitioners.

Key features:

• Presents practical and realistic methods for working with owners to improve patients' welfare within the constraints of everyday practice.
• Provides useful advice for work within many legal jurisdictions.
• Includes summaries of research, vital references, and further reading sources.
• Key points are recapped at the end of each chapter.

Suitable for all those working in the veterinary and related professions, including veterinarians, veterinary nurses, animal welfare scientists, animal behaviourists, paraprofessionals and lay staff.

Table of contents:
Foreword by Carl Padgett vii
Foreword by David Main ix
Preface xi
1 Patients
2 Clients
3 Welfare Assessment
4 Clinical Choices
5 Achieving Animal Welfare Goals
6 Beyond the Clinic
References
Index

Author:
James Yeates BVSc BSc DWEL DipECVS(AWBM) PhD MRCVS is Chief Veterinary Officer at the RSPCA.  He is an active member of the animal welfare research community, and publishes on topics including animal welfare concepts and companion animal welfare assessment.  He is Chair of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Ethics and Welfare Group and British Small Animal Veterinary Association Welfare Committee, as well as being editor of the Journal of Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law.  He has also lectured on animal welfare at undergraduate and postgraduate level across UK universities.