Why do some veterinarians choose to ignore an animal’s health and safety?
The treatment of animals is a sensitive and controversial issue, which has created divisions even within the veterinarian community itself. Veterinarians vary in their professional attitudes about animals and what is considered humane. “Veterinarians have traditionally been beholden to the human client, not to the nonhuman patient,” explains veterinarian Dr. Gloria Binkowski in 2004. (Friends of Animal; see link below) Within veterinary education, animals have been “viewed as educational tools rather than sentient beings” — creatures who feel pain and can suffer. Some have been taught to define the “client” as the human who pays the bill, not the sick patient (the animal). The consequence of this attitude, in regards to dog and cat breeding, is that some veterinarians may turn a blind eye to inhumane conditions and practices because of income earned. Some veterinarians may also be ignorant of new scientific research regarding animal pain or what’s considered inhumane. They continue to
