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Animal welfare policy statements

The veterinarian's role in animal welfare

This informative booklet provides AVMA policy statements on animal welfare issues affecting various species and practice types.

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Table of Contents

AVMA Animal Welfare Principles

Ownership vs. Guardianship

Animal Abuse and Animal Neglect

Euthanasia of Animals That Are Unwanted or Unfit for Adoption

Pain in Animals

Physical Restraint of Animals

Regulations and Policies Regarding Animal Use

Responsible Use of Animals for Human Purposes

Veterinarians and Veterinary Associations Working with Animal Control and Animal Welfare Organizations, AVMA Guidelines for

Animals Used in Entertainment:

• Animals Used in Entertainment, Shows and for Exhibition
• Animal Fighting

Animals Used in Research and Teaching:

• Safety Testing
• USDA/APHIS Animal Welfare Program
• Use of Animals in Precollege Education
• Use of Animals in Research, Testing, and Education
• Use of Random-Source Dogs and Cats for Research, Testing, and Education

Companion Animals:

• Dog and Cat Population Control
• Free-roaming Abandoned and Feral Cats
• Free Roaming, Owned Cats
• Declawing of Domestic Cats
• Early-Age (Prepubertal) Spay/Neuter of Dogs and Cats
• Ear Cropping and Tail Docking of Dogs
  See also:
  • Backgrounder: Welfare Implications of Dogs: Ear Cropping
  • Backgrounder: Welfare Implications of Dogs: Tail Docking
  • Ear cropping and canine otitis externa FAQ
  • Canine tail docking FAQ
  • History of Policy on Ear Cropping and Tail Docking of Dogs (PDF)
• Transport of Dogs in Open Cargo Areas of Pickup Trucks
  See also:
  • Backgrounder: Dogs Traveling in Truck Beds
• Canine Devocalization
• Removal or Reduction of Teeth as a Treatment for Canine Aggression

Horses:

• Humane Transport of Equines
• Management of Mares Used in the Pregnant Mare Urine (PMU) Collection Industry
• Practice of Soring
• Therapeutic Medications in Racehorses
• Therapeutic Medications in Non-Racing Performance Horses
• Transportation and Processing of Horses
• Use of Horses in Urban Environments

Wildlife and Exotic Animals:

• Trapping and Steel-Jawed Leghold Traps
  See also:
  • Backgrounder: Leghold Trap Use in Conservation and Research
• Removal of Antlers (Velveting)
  See also:
  • Backgrounder: Welfare Implications of Deer Velvet
• Removal or Reduction of Canine Teeth in Captive Nonhuman Primates or Exotic and Wild (Indigenous) Carnivores
• Declawing Captive Exotic and Wild Indigenous Cats
• Elephant Guides and Tethers
  See also:
  • Backgrounder: Elephant Training

Food Animals:

• Transport, Sale Yard Practices, and Humane Slaughter of Livestock
• Disabled Livestock
• Electroimmobilization
  See also:
  • Backgrounder: Electroimmobilization

Cattle:

• Castration and Dehorning of Cattle
  See also:
  • Backgrounder: Castration
  • Backgrounder: Dehorning
• Flank Ovariectomy
• Veal Calf Management
  See also:
  • Backgrounder: Veal Calf Husbandry
• Tail Docking of Cattle
  See also:
  • Backgrounder: Tail Docking of Cattle

Sheep:

• Docking of Lambs' Tails

Swine:

• Pregnant Sow Housing
  See also:
  • Housing for Pregnant Sows, A Comprehensive Review of (PDF)
• Swine Castration, Tail Docking, and Identification

Poultry:

• Use of Water-Based Foam for Depopulation of Poultry
• Housing Layer Chickens in Cages
• Beak Trimming
• Induced Molting of Layer Chickens