Paper short abstract:

The paper takes a historical approach to veterinary killing and explores the relationship between caring and killing in different locations (slaughterhouse, clinic). The technologies and methods of animal killing are related to emerging notions of welfare and a ‘good death’.

Paper long abstract:

The regular, deliberate killing of patients is unique to veterinary medicine. With companion animals, this commonly takes place as euthanasia, a word deriving from the Greek eu (well) and thanatos (death), and generally taken to mean 'a good death'. Euthanasia may be performed as an alternative to futile treatment, or else to alleviate uncontrollable pain or suffering. Euthanasia is seen an extension of care and an act of compassion.

However, in veterinary medicine euthanasia is used to describe the act of killing as well as the reason behind it. The term euthanasia can be used to describe the killing of happy, healthy but unwanted animals in a rescue shelter. Such animals can be given a 'good death' if we consider euthanasia as a perfectly performed technical procedure rather than, primarily, an act of mercy killing to alleviate suffering. Veterinary killing also includes other kinds of animal for which the term euthanasia is not routinely employed: farm animals are usually 'slaughtered', not euthanized; parasites are 'destroyed' or 'eliminated', never euthanized. Deliberate killing by the veterinarian is therefore more complex than the term euthanasia alone suggests because there are varied forms of veterinary killing.

In this paper, I will explore killing in historical perspective. I will show that the mass killing of animals was instrumental in establishing veterinary medicine as a discipline, and that throughout veterinary history, 'killing and caring' has constituted an important construct for the veterinary profession, requiring frequent re-negotiation to legitimate the ethics and practice of the act.

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