Animal Welfare in Veterinary Education: Training Compassionate Clinicians

Veterinary education shapes the welfare attitudes, knowledge, and practices of future clinicians; its quality and values content determine welfare outcomes for billions of animals.

Key Facts

Veterinary schools vary significantly in how much attention they give to welfare science, pain management, and behavioural medicine in their curricula
Studies show that veterinary students begin training with high welfare motivation that can erode under exposure to practices that treat animal pain as secondary
Pain management in veterinary practice is improving but surveys find that analgesic use in routine procedures still varies widely between practices and practitioners
The One Welfare framework explicitly connects veterinary education with human wellbeing, arguing that welfare-positive veterinary practice reduces zoonotic risk and supports sustainable farming
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and equivalent bodies in other countries have incorporated welfare competencies into their professional standards

Welfare Considerations

Veterinary education is a welfare leverage point because every veterinary graduate influences the welfare of animals across their career. A vet who underestimates pain, dismisses behavioural needs, or prioritises production over individual animal interests will make worse welfare decisions across thousands of cases over a career. Conversely, a vet who is trained in current welfare science, pain assessment, and evidence-based practice will improve welfare in every clinical interaction. Improving veterinary education welfare content is therefore an investment with lifelong multiplied returns.

What You Can Do

Support veterinary school curriculum reform that gives welfare science, pain management, and behavioural medicine their appropriate prominence
Advocate for welfare competencies to be assessed in veterinary licensing examinations as a requirement for qualification
Choose veterinary practices that explicitly commit to current pain management standards and welfare-positive approaches
Support continuing education opportunities for qualified vets to update their knowledge of welfare science and pain management
Engage with veterinary professional bodies to strengthen welfare standards in professional codes of practice