TDK conference 2019

At the Laboratory Animal Science and Animal Protection Unit of the University of Veterinary Medicine, for the topic of my dissertation I chose euthanasia. Nowadays, this subject raises important questions, and results in many conflicts in veterinary practice. During my research, I have taken into account the historical and religious background of euthanasia, its types, and examined the human aspects. I have also studied the medical products that can be used in the execution process, and the different branches of euthanasia. The study was conducted using two different questionnaires, which were answered by pet owners and veterinarians. The primary purpose of the survey is to gain insight into the owners' and veterinarians' attitudes and views on euthanasia, in order to compare the results. My research also included the analysis of 759 completed questionnaires. Pet owners filled out 548 questionnaires, while veterinarians filled out 211. Pet owners from every age group participated in the study, most of them (32,5 %) are between 18 and 30. Considering their residence, they are mostly from small towns, and as expected, the majority (91.1%) are women. Despite most pet owners are familiar with the meaning of euthanasia, approximately half of them do not know the difference between active and passive euthanasia (63% and 58%). Furthermore, more than half of them find euthanasia acceptable in the case of animals (53,6%), and in the case of humans (56,8%). My research revealed that pet owners are certainly influenced by the veterinarians' opinion regarding euthanasia, since 92,7 % of them accept the procedure, if that is the veterinarian's suggestion. More than one third of the participating veterinarians (39,8%) belongs to the age group ranging from 31 to 40. Most of them (35,1%) work in the capital city area, who were women in this case as well. Three quarter of the participants (75,8%) work with small animals. Among the participating veterinarians, 2,8% do not perform euthanasia, and 67,8% of those who do, are more or less affected by the procedure. Only 60,7% of the veterinarians who filled out the questionnaires, make pet owners sign a statement of consent before performing euthanasia. Moreover, 5,8% of them do not use any premedication before the procedure, which causes controversy from the aspect of medical morality and safety.