Euthanasia decision making in ranches and feedlots

Beef cattle production veterinarians have a responsibility to train their clients and help them make appropriate and timely treatment, culling/railing, euthanasia and emergency sal­vage slaughter decisions. There may be times, though, that veterinarians do not agree with their client’s decision on the treatment or final disposition of a distressed or compromised animal, which will be frustrating. To be credible production animal veterinarians whom clients trust, and thus, are more likely to follow recommendations, veterinarians must under­stand beef production economics and practical, logistical reali­ties on each beef cattle operation and take these into consider­ation when providing advice. There are well documented beef industry animal health, welfare and transportation guidelines for sick and compromised cattle from the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA),14-16 Animal Health Canada,7,10 Canadi­an Cattlemen’s Association (CCA),22 U.S. (USRSB) and Canadian Roundtables of Sustainable Beef (CRSB),11,21 and Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO).8,20 For vet­erinarians, there are similar guidelines from the American Vet­erinary Medical Association (AVMA)5 and American Associa­tion of Bovine Practitioners (AABP).1-3 There may be additional federal or state/provincial regulations for the transport of compromised cattle that veterinarians and producers must be aware of.9 It is our responsibility as veterinarians to be famil­iar with the most current versions of these animal health and welfare guidelines and regulations, before advising our clients. Armed with current scientific, industry, and regulatory infor­mation, veterinarians can help their clients reduce the number of compromised animals in their beef cattle operations through preventive herd health programs and animal husbandry prac­tices. When that fails, veterinarians can then help their beef clients make informed, objective and timely decisions on the fi­nal disposition of their compromised cattle, which are in the best interest of the animal and the client’s financial bottom line.