Ethics

Question 1

Why is ethics relevant to professional practice?

Answer 1

1. As vets we are professionals:. SELF REGULATE: adherer to the RCVS code of professional conduct
2. Ethical dilemma- multiple competing responsibilities where it is difficult to prioritise one over another
3. Poor decision-making can have a negative impact on animal welfare, vet-client relationships and wellbeing and we should therefore strive to achieve rational balanced decisions regarding our patients.

Question 2

What are ethics?

Answer 2

Moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour or how they conduct and activity

Question 3

How does consideration given to animals vary?

Answer 3

According to if we believe the animal has:

a) intrinsic value - worthy of ethical consideration in their own right
b) Instrumental value - worthy of consideration due to their use to US (not as an individual)

Question 4

What is sentience and how is it measured?

Answer 4

1. Measured by comparing the neurophysiology and behaviour to that of humans (CNS)
2. Sentience - the capacity of an organism to have feelings including the ability to think, suffer and experience emotions

Question 5

What are the 6 main ethical theories?

Answer 5

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1. Virtue
2. Utilitarianism
3. Contractarianism
4. Deontology
5. Naturalism
6. Relational

Question 6

What is contractarianism?

Answer 6

1. views of ethics and morality based on a contract agreement between 2 parties

Question 7

What is Utilitarianism?

Answer 7

1. OUTCOME based - balances cost and benefit of an action and outcome it causes

Question 8

What is Deontology?

Answer 8

1. Rules and Duties

Question 9

What is closely associated with deontology and what is its 4 guiding principles?

Answer 9

PRINCIPALISM

1. Autonomy - whose free will? the client or animal
2. Beneficence - to improve animal welfare: do good
3. Non-maleficence - doing no harm: we use euthanasia? injections hurt?
4. Justice - treat all animals and owners in a fair and equal way- depends on moral status of animals

Question 10

What is Relational?

Answer 10

1. The relationship we have with an animal and therefore if it is worthy of consideration?

Question 11

What is a virtue?

Answer 11

1. All about characteristics and being a nice person

Question 12

What is naturalism?

Answer 12

1. Respect for nature or conservationist

Question 13

What is the ethical decision making process?

Answer 13

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1. Prepare/ identify issue
2. Consider options available if undertake this decision
3. Analyse Issue involved
	a) Stakeholders and their interests
	b) Ethical principles involved
	c) Whose interests rank highest: conflicting interests of stakeholders
	d)consequences
4. Consider rules (legislation, professional codes)
5. Discuss with others
6. Act
7. Reflect

Question 14

what are the issues surrounding Virtue?

Answer 14

ISSUES:

a) Focus on person and character
b) Includes actions, attitudes, views
c) avoids extremes
d) uses role models - reflection and development
e) no guidance
f) might misuse e.g. if use a bad role model
g) allows for actions that are well meaning but have a bad outcome as you were trying to be a nice person so it is fine?
h) motives - not steal because virtue or just scared of being caught?

Question 15

what are the issues surrounding Utilitarianism?

Answer 15

ISSUES:

a) Aim: to maximise human and animals wellbeing
b) Animals are a stakeholder as sentient and capacity to suffer
c) No actions are inherently wrong as all about outcome
d) Intentions are irrelevant (meant to do something for a good reason but neg outcome = wrong decision)
e. ) Cost benefit, weigh up and achieve greatest good for the greatest number
f. ) can be challenging to predict outcomes correctly
g) immoral acts- acceptable to murder one person to use organs to save another? Legal constraints in place to prevent some actions
h) How do we measure greatest good? – animals vs humans?
i) Only net outcomes count, the individual doesn’t count (51% happy 49% suffering, that’s fine as more are happy than not so suffering don’t count)
j) No considerations to intensions- try to do something good but it went wrong = wrong choice

Question 16

what are the issues surrounding Contrarianism?

Answer 16

ISSUES:

a) anthropocentric = only applies to those who can take part in that agreement
b) It considers animals as having no intrinsic moral status due to their lack of moral duties (something we feel bound to perform due to personal beliefs)
c) animals often considered indirectly - duties to owners - e.g. improve welfare on farm to improve productivity for the farmer

Question 17

what are the issues surrounding deontology?

Answer 17

ISSUES:

a) all about correct actions and moral obligations and principles that everyone has to follow
b) All about doing the RIGHt thing - not necessarily getting the best outcome
c) Choice can’t be justified by effects asis only about rules - good outcome but broke rules = wrong
d) Protects the rights of individuals
e) consequences are irrelevant (nazis followed rules)
f) Inflexible
g) could have conflicting rules

Question 18

what are the issues surrounding Naturalism?

Answer 18

ISSUES:

a) Preservation of species in ecosystem
b. Maintenance species integrity
1. avoid extinsion
2. No GM
3. Leave animals the way evolution made
4. environment
c. Individual not as importance as larger group

Question 19

what are the issues surrounding Relational?

Answer 19

ISSUES:

a) Not just sentience but relationship: experimental, farm, pets
b. Sliding scale- socio zoological scale
i. More moral responsibility towards animals we have a closer relationship too: rodents have same level of sentience it is acceptable to treat differently
c. Vague
d. No consensus on what care entails
e. Limits to levels of care/ responsibilit