Attitudes toward Animals and Decision Making on Veterinary Ethical Issues in Korean Veterinary Students

To examine the attitude of students toward animals and its relation to veterinary ethical decision making, 302 pre-veterinary and veterinary students of three national universities (Seoul, Chungbuk and Kyungsang National University) were requested to answer the Animal Attitude Scale Test, an indicator of one's pro-animal attitude. A significant gender difference in the AAS scores was found with higher scores in females (female vs. male, 65.27 vs. 57.40; p < 0.0001). The students who have companion animals had higher AAS scores (62.55) than those who donot (58.03, p < 0.0001). However, years of study and experience with animal protection activities did not affect the AAS scores. The correlation between the attitude toward animals and ethical decision making was found in the investigation with two cases of a veterinary ethical dilemma: the medical treatment of a cow in its last gestation stage with ocular squamous cell carcinoma and the euthanizing of a 12 year-old dog with urinary incontinence. The students tend to support for veterinarians to influence clients' decisions in treatment by using their power as medical professionals, even if doing so could partly damage the interests of the clients or patients. The significant correlations between the AAS scores and veterinary ethical decision making were found in this study, which implies that the attitude toward animals should be considered as one of the major factors in making ethical decisions in veterinary practice.

한국 수의과대학 학생의 동물에 대한 태도 및 동물진료 관련 윤리적 의사결정