Veterinarian-Chasing A Dream Job? A Comparative Survey on Wellbeing and Stress Levels among European Veterinarians between 2018 and 2023.

Whilst recognizing the abundantly positive aspects within the different domains of the veterinary profession, the challenging socio-economic and cultural working climate has been identified as a source of veterinary mental wellbeing issues. This mixed methods study provides an overview of the mental state of veterinarians across Europe via two cross-sectional surveys in 2018/2019 (n = 14,559 veterinarians) and in 2022/2023 (n = 12,393 veterinarians). Mental wellbeing was assessed using 3 indicators: self-reported stress levels, the need for medical leave due to reduced mental wellbeing (22% and 23%, resp., in 2018/2019 and 2022/2023) and the seven-question Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (2018/2019: 25, 2022/2023: 24.8). In both surveys, important differences were spotlighted between countries, but early-career veterinarians and female veterinarians were most at risk of decreased mental wellbeing all over Europe for all indicators. In conclusion, stress levels and need for medical leave due to reduced mental wellbeing remained at comparatively high levels across the two surveys and standardized mental wellbeing scores remained equally low. Notwithstanding the increased attention given to veterinary wellbeing in the last decade, our results underline that major efforts remain necessary, by creating more supportive and attractive workplaces that prioritize wellbeing, a good work/life balance, and providing job satisfaction.

Colistin Use in European Livestock: Veterinary Field Data on Trends and Perspectives for Further Reduction.

Polymyxin E (colistin) is a medically important active substance both in human and veterinary medicine. Colistin has been used in veterinary medicine since the 1950s. Due to the discovery of the plasmid-borne mcr gene in 2015 and the simultaneously increased importance in human medicine as a last-resort antibiotic, the use of colistin for animals was scrutinised. Though veterinary colistin sales dropped by 76.5% between 2011 to 2020, few studies evaluated real-world data on the use patterns of colistin in different European countries and sectors. A survey among veterinarians revealed that 51.9% did not use or ceased colistin, 33.4% decreased their use, 10.4% stabilised their use, and 2.7% increased use. The most important indications for colistin use were gastrointestinal diseases in pigs followed by septicaemia in poultry. A total of 106 (16.0%) responding veterinarians reported governmental/industry restrictions regarding colistin use, most commonly mentioning "use only after susceptibility testing" (57%). In brief, colistin was perceived as an essential last-resort antibiotic in veterinary medicine for E. coli infections in pigs and poultry, where there is no alternative legal, safe, and efficacious antimicrobial available. To further reduce the need for colistin, synergistic preventive measures, including improved biosecurity, husbandry, and vaccinations, must be employed.

Mental well-being and diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in the veterinary profession: Pathways to a more resilient profession.

Mental well-being (MWB) and diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (DEI) continue to be critical within the veterinary profession but there is less information regarding how professional associations around the world tackle these issues. A mixed-method study including an international online survey in English (n = 137 responses via snowball sampling), fourteen interviews, and two webinars was used to identify the availability and impact of MWB and DEI support programs for veterinarians. Survey results showed that more veterinary organizations designated MWB and DEI challenges (54%, n = 43/79 and 58%, n = 45/78, respectively) as a key priority area than veterinary clinics (26%, n = 15/57 and 33%, n = 19/57, respectively). Whereas, MWB support programs were available in a moderate number of mainly English-speaking countries, DEI support programs were available in only a few countries and focused primarily on specific groups, with an unknown impact due to their recent implementation. Universally, survey respondents believed activities for specific groups, such as MWB webinars, training, and awareness campaigns, as well as MWB/DEI helplines and DEI peer-to-peer support programs had a high impact (median 3.5-4/5) yet were underemployed by both veterinary organization and veterinary clinics. Further feedback from respondents during focused interviews indicated that requiring initial and continuing training as well as tailored group activities would be most beneficial to improve MWB/DEI throughout the veterinary professional career. There are many areas of the intersection between MWB and DEI that remain to be elucidated in the future studies. Having a sufficient sample size, improving accessibility, and addressing varying cultural perceptions are the main challenges, as seen in our study. To truly address MWB and DEI disparities, change is also needed in veterinary workplace culture and environment. In conclusion, raising awareness for an inclusive profession, including increasing openness and acceptance to enhance DEI and destigmatizing MWB challenges, is needed to ensure a thriving, modern veterinary profession.

Real-World Data on Antibiotic Group Treatment in European Livestock: Drivers, Conditions, and Alternatives.

Major efforts have been made by veterinary professionals to reduce the need for antibiotic use in animals. An online survey launched by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) aimed to gather responses from practicing veterinarians with field experience in metaphylactic livestock group treatment. Only 17% of all veterinarians (n = 183/1087, all species-specific responses merged) applied metaphylactic group treatments to 75% or more of all their treatments. Significantly less metaphylactic group treatments were reported in mixed practices (p = 0.002) and practices specialized in cattle (p < 0.001) as well as small (p = 0.007) and very small practices (p = 0.009). Gram-negative bacteria, mostly composed of Enterobacteriaceae and Pasteurellaceae, were considered by 75.3% (n = 967/1385) as the most devastating bacterial pathogens. Respondents alleged morbidity (20.1%, n = 201/998) and mortality (42.2%, n = 421/998) as major consequences for animal health and welfare if metaphylaxis would be banned. Responding veterinarians pointed towards vaccinations; improved biosecurity, including hygiene measures; and improved herd health management as the three most effective alternative measures to prevent metaphylactic treatment. However, more research is needed on how to implement appropriate alternatives in a holistic hurdle approach. Active support on a national level will be necessary for the development and application of targeted veterinary treatment guidelines for practitioners, which promote the understanding of drivers and include initiation criteria for metaphylactic group treatments in livestock.

Cannabis, Cannabidiol Oils and Tetrahydrocannabinol-What Do Veterinarians Need to Know?

As cannabis-derived products have become more available, veterinarians are seeing more cases of toxicosis. In addition, animal owners are having an increasing interest in using these products for their pets. This review looks at the situation in Europe and North America, the different types of cannabis and cannabis-derived products with historical examples of use in animals, and the cannabis industry. The existing regulatory framework for use in humans and animals as medicines and/or supplements was examined. Finally, a review of the clinical indications for which medicinal cannabis is authorised, a discussion of toxicosis, and recommendations and warnings around medical cannabis use are presented.

Evolution of the Teaching of Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law in European Veterinary Schools (2012-2019).

Nowadays, animal welfare is seen as a 'common good' and a societal expectation. Veterinarians are expected to promote and ensure the welfare of animals under their care by using their scientific knowledge and skills in ethical reasoning and advocacy. Veterinary education must equip veterinary graduates with the necessary competences to fulfil these roles. In 2013, the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) and the European Association of Establishment of Veterinary Education (EAEVE) adopted the Day-1 competences on animal welfare science, ethics and law for veterinary undergraduate education after having surveyed European veterinary schools in 2012. In 2019, the FVE carried out a follow-up survey to monitor the evolution of animal welfare teaching in Europe. A total of 82 responses were received, representing 57 faculties from 25 European countries. Overall results showed that the teaching of animal welfare science, ethics and law has increased in response to growing societal needs, and that welfare is more and more internally embedded in the profession, which is reflected in the curriculum. Nevertheless, at least one quarter of European schools still only partially meet the 2013 Day-1 competencies. This indicates the need for greater efforts, both from the EAEVE and from individual schools, to ensure that the teaching of animal welfare across Europe is standardised.

Mapping the teaching of honeybee veterinary medicine in the European Union and European Free Trade Area.

BACKGROUND: Honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a very important species for human beings, animals, environmental biodiversity, crop production and economic sustainability in Europe and worldwide. This study investigates whether future veterinarians are trained to deal with the particular needs of the only traditional food-producing insect in Europe. METHODS: This study analyses data collected from 77 European veterinary education establishments in EU and the European Free Trade Area. RESULTS: The results show that 75 per cent of those establishments (58 out of 77) teach honeybee veterinary medicine. There is a clear geographical differentiation. In north-western countries only about half of the establishments include honeybee health, production and product inspection in their undergraduate curricula, while in eastern, central and southern countries, which are also important beekeeping countries, the great majority of the establishments incorporate honeybee veterinary medicine in their undergraduate curriculum. Eighty-six per cent of all the establishments teaching honeybee veterinary medicine (50 of the 58) incorporate it in their core curriculum either as separate subject or as part of other subjects. Twenty-five per cent of all the establishments (19 out of 77) organise postgraduate training courses in this field. CONCLUSIONS: Veterinarians have an important role in ensuring the health, sustainability and productivity of managed honeybee colonies as they do for other animal species. It seems however that teaching of honeybee veterinary medicine receives less attention in undergraduate veterinary curricula in EU compared with other fields of veterinary medicine. Seeing the increasing importance of honey bees for crop protection, environmental protection and economic sustainability, it would be beneficial to further strengthen the education of honeybee veterinary medicine in the future. Establishments should encourage and prepare veterinarians for practising science-based veterinary medicine in honey bees by incorporating such teaching in undergraduate curricula and by providing postgraduate opportunities to qualified veterinarians wishing to enhance their basic skills in this field.

Horse Welfare During Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG) Production.

Collection of blood from pregnant mares for extraction of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) is a critical but relatively unknown and poorly regulated practice in the countries in which it occurs. Equine chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone that is widely used to enhance reproductive performance and management of dairy and beef cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs kept under intensive housing systems. eCG is extracted from the blood of brood mares between days 40-120 of gestation. Although alternatives have been sought, there is currently no efficacious replacement, natural or synthetic, for eCG. Recently, several animal welfare organizations have voiced concerns over the condition and treatment of pregnant mares kept for eCG production in some countries. Animal welfare issues may arise if mares are bled too frequently or if too much blood is collected at any time. In addition, these mares tend to be managed extensively on pastures with minimal veterinary oversight and they may be poorly desensitized and habituated to handling and other practices. This can lead to serious injuries and even death when mares are brought in for bleeding. This paper reviews the process of blood collection for eCG extraction and provides recommendations for ensuring mare welfare.

Efforts to Ban the Routine Tail Docking of Pigs and to Give Pigs Enrichment Materials via EU Law: Where do We Stand a Quarter of a Century on?

In its role as guardian of the Treaties, the European Commission must ensure that Member States enforce EU law within their territories. If adequate enforcement is found to be wanting, the Commission also has the power to take infringement procedures as a corrective measure. The case of Directive 120/2008/EC on the protection of pigs is problematic, as only a few Member States are respecting the ban on routine tail docking, whilst not all pigs are given (adequate) enrichment materials. Twenty-five years after the first EU-wide legal ban on routine tail docking came into force, we are faced with an unprecedented situation that may lead to infringement procedures against more than 20 Member States. This paper describes the various steps that led to the development of the EU law designed specifically to safeguard the welfare of pigs. It lists the numerous efforts (research studies, study visits, recommendations, audits, reports, factsheets, action plans, etc.), undertaken by European decision makers to assist Member States in their efforts to better implement and enforce the relevant rules. Finally, the paper further analyses the current state of play and presents a reflection on possible future scenarios.

'Phasing out pig tail docking in the EU - present state, challenges and possibilities'.

BACKGROUND: European legislation dictates that pig tail docking is not allowed to be performed routinely (European Union. Council Directive 2008/120/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs. OJ L 47, 18.2.2009). Nevertheless, tail docking is still practiced routinely in many European countries, while four countries stopped routine tail docking completely. Tail docking is also practiced in many countries outside Europe.The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), the European Association of Porcine Health Management (EAPHM) together with the European Commission carried out an online survey to investigate the situation regarding the practice of pig tail docking and the provision of enrichment material across 24 European countries. It also focuses on the role of the veterinary profession and gives an overview on published literature regarding the challenges and possibilities related to the raising of pigs with intact tails. RESULTS: Fifty-seven (57) usable survey responses from 24 countries were received. On average 77% (median = 95%) of pigs are routinely tail-docked. In Finland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, less than 5% of the pigs are tail-docked. According to the respondents, 67% of pigs (median = 76%) across the 24 EU countries surveyed are given suitable enrichment materials. Training of veterinary practitioners, their role in advising the producer and undertaking a risk assessment of tail biting were more positively valued in countries that stopped routine tail docking than in countries that had not stopped routine tail docking. Initiatives such as training from national authorities to encourage abandoning tail docking and routine recording of tail biting at the slaughterhouse were identified as two successful items to promote the raising of pigs with entire tails. CONCLUSION: In many European countries the majority of the pigs are still routinely tail-docked, which is a violation of the European legislation. To stop routine tail docking it is necessary to raise the awareness and education about risk factors to prevent tail biting. The growing knowledge about the reasons for failing voluntary national initiatives as well as about successful measures taken by some countries to make pig production with intact tails feasible should be distributed throughout the EU pig producing community. The veterinary profession has a significant role to play in raising awareness, facilitate knowledge transfer and to identify risk factors and solutions on farm level for the benefit of pig health and welfare.

Mapping the Teaching of Laboratory Animal Science and Medicine in the European Union and European Free Trade Area.

Developing a common market and allowing free movement of goods, services, and people is one of the main objectives of the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Area. In the field of scientific research, Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes aims to improve the welfare of laboratory animals by following the principle of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement). Each breeder, supplier, and user must appoint a designated veterinarian to advise on the well-being and treatment of the animals. In our report we investigate how the undergraduate veterinary curriculum prepares future veterinarians for the role of designated veterinarian, by analyzing data from 77 European veterinary education establishments. Over 80% of them provide training in laboratory animal science and medicine in their curriculum. All countries in the EU and the European Free Trade Area, having national veterinary schools, include such training in the curriculum of at least one of their establishments. Laboratory animal science and medicine courses can be obligatory or elective and are often part of more than one subject in the veterinary curricula. Post-graduate courses or programs are available at more than 50% of those veterinary schools. Most authorities in the European region consider graduate veterinarians ready to seek the role as designated veterinarian immediately after graduation.

Mapping the teaching of aquatic animal veterinary medicine in the European Union and European Free Trade Area.

Aquatic animal production is the fastest growing food sector globally. Aquaculture and fisheries are very dynamic sectors in the EU and the number of ornamental aquarium pets is increasing. Veterinarians have a fundamental role to play by ensuring health and welfare of aquatic species, productivity and profitability of fish farming, public health and ecosystem conservation. This study investigates how the undergraduate curriculum prepares future veterinarians for such roles by analysing data from the 77 European veterinary education establishments based in EU and the European Free Trade Area. Over 95 per cent of these establishments incorporate teaching in aquatic animal veterinary medicine in their curriculum, while the great majority do so within the core curriculum. Almost half of the establishments provide teaching in aquatic animal veterinary medicine as separate subjects. Many establishments (>40 per cent) provide such training as elective option in their undergraduate curricula or as postgraduate opportunities to enhance Day One Competences. The veterinary education establishments integrating adequately aquatic animal veterinary medicine in their curriculum are evenly distributed in all regions of Europe. Veterinarians are trained and empowered by legislation to assess health of aquatic animals, to diagnose, to prescribe medicines, to notify for diseases and to ensure safe food for the consumers. Veterinary education establishments should encourage training of veterinarians to follow a career in aquatic animal veterinary medicine.

Veterinary pharmacovigilance in Europe: a survey of veterinary practitioners.

A web-based survey was conducted by the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe with the support of the European Medicines Agency to gain a better insight into the adverse event reporting habits of veterinary practitioners and the level of information on reported adverse events that flows back to them. It was completed by 3545 veterinarians. The findings indicate marked under-reporting and that the system is poorly equipped to deal with lack of expected efficacy, with few cases reported and most found to be inconclusive. It was also found that feedback systems are greatly lacking. In order to increase spontaneous reporting, there is a need to make reporting easier (eg, by developing mobile apps, to incorporate the reporting into the practice management system software) and to make veterinarians better aware of the importance of reporting and the added value it may bring. Feedback systems should be improved. The best way to motivate reporters is to demonstrate that the reports they submit are indeed useful and contribute to the improved use of veterinary medicinal products. The major role veterinarians can play in improving animal health, welfare and public health by reporting adverse events needs to be further promoted.

Pig castration: will the EU manage to ban pig castration by 2018?

BACKGROUND: In 2010, the 'European Declaration on alternatives to surgical castration of pigs' was agreed. The Declaration stipulates that from January 1, 2012, surgical castration of pigs shall only be performed with prolonged analgesia and/or anaesthesia and from 2018 surgical castration of pigs should be phased out altogether. The Federation of Veterinarians of Europe together with the European Commission carried out an online survey via SurveyMonkey© to investigate the progress made in different European countries. This study provides descriptive information on the practice of piglet castration across 24 European countries. It gives also an overview on published literature regarding the practicability and effectiveness of the alternatives to surgical castration without anaesthesia/analgesia. RESULTS: Forty usable survey responses from 24 countries were received. Besides Ireland, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom, who have of history in producing entire males, 18 countries surgically castrate 80% or more of their male pig population. Overall, in 5% of the male pigs surgically castrated across the 24 European countries surveyed, castration is performed with anaesthesia and analgesia and 41% with analgesia (alone). Meloxicam, ketoprofen and flunixin were the most frequently used drugs for analgesia. Procaine was the most frequent local anaesthetic. The sedative azaperone was frequently mentioned even though it does not have analgesic properties. Half of the countries surveyed believed that the method of anaesthesia/analgesia applied is not practicable and effective. However, countries that have experience in using both anaesthesia and post-operative analgesics, such as Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and The Netherlands, found this method practical and effective. The estimated average percentage of immunocastrated pigs in the countries surveyed was 2.7% (median = 0.2%), where Belgium presented the highest estimated percentage of immunocastrated pigs (18%). CONCLUSION: The deadlines of January 1, 2012, and of 2018 are far from being met. The opinions on the animal-welfare-conformity and the practicability of the alternatives to surgical castration without analgesia/anaesthesia and the alternatives to surgical castration are widely dispersed. Although countries using analgesia/anaesthesia routinely found this method practical and effective, only few countries seem to aim at meeting the deadline to phase out surgical castration completely.