Animal welfare in practice
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
1998 |
Authors: |
J. S. J. Odendaal |
Publication/Journal: |
Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
Keywords: |
animal welfare, contextual diagnosis, veterinary practice |
ISBN: |
0168-1591 |
Abstract:
Too often, veterinary services in practice are perceived as making a diagnosis, applying or administering effective treatment and that recovery from a disease or injury is an indication of success. However, to be fully responsive to their patients’ welfare, veterinarians should view each patient in the context of its total environment. Enhancing animal welfare and well-being in practice requires evaluation of the animals’ interaction with their daily surroundings as an integral part of clinical medicine. Animal health in this sense would be to create an equilibrium between the animal and its environment. A clinical diagnosis alone can be described as the smaller diagnosis, while a contextual diagnosis can be described as the larger diagnosis. The linear approach of diagnosis, treatment, success should be changed to the holistic approach of comprehensive care. Only then can veterinarians claim that they pursued fully their patients’ welfare as part of everyday practice.