Kogan Lori R, Schoenfeld-Tacher Regina M, Hellyer Peter W, Rishniw Mark, Ruch-Gallie Rebecca A
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2017 Mar 15;250(6):688-696. doi: 10.2460/javma.250.6.688.
OBJECTIVE To survey practicing veterinarians regarding their perceptions of and experiences with cases of suspected or confirmed animal abuse and related state laws. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. POPULATION Members of the Veterinary Information Network (VIN; n = 34,144) who were in veterinary practice at the time of the survey. PROCEDURES A survey was designed and distributed online to all VIN members from January 26 to February 28, 2015. Responses were compiled, and binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors that influenced decisions or perceptions regarding animal abuse encounters and related legislation. RESULTS 1,209 completed surveys were received (3.5% response rate); 1,155 (95.5%) surveys were submitted by currently practicing veterinarians. One thousand five (87.0%) practicing veterinarians reported having encountered at least 1 case of animal abuse while in practice; 561 (55.8%) of these veterinarians indicated that they had reported at least 1 case. The most common reasons selected for reporting abuse were to protect the animal, ethical beliefs, and to protect other animals in the household. The most common reasons selected for not reporting the abuse were uncertainty that the animal had been abused, belief that client education would be better, and belief that the injury or illness was accidental versus intentional. Most respondents were unaware of the current status of laws in their state regarding animal abuse reporting. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results suggested a need for state and national veterinary and humane-law enforcement organizations to increase communication and education efforts on recognition and reporting by veterinarians of animal abuse and the related laws.
目的 就执业兽医对疑似或确诊动物虐待病例的看法和经历以及相关州法律进行调查。设计 横断面研究。研究对象 调查时正在从事兽医工作的兽医信息网络（VIN；n = 34,144）成员。方法 设计了一项调查，并于2015年1月26日至2月28日在线分发给所有VIN成员。对回复进行汇总，并进行二元逻辑回归分析，以确定影响兽医对动物虐待事件及相关立法的决策或看法的因素。结果 共收到1209份完整的调查问卷（回复率为3.5%）；其中1155份（95.5%）是由目前正在执业的兽医提交的。1005名（87.0%）执业兽医报告在执业期间至少遇到过1例动物虐待病例；其中561名（55.8%）兽医表示他们至少报告过1例。选择报告虐待行为的最常见原因是保护动物、道德信念以及保护家中的其他动物。选择不报告虐待行为的最常见原因是不确定动物是否受到虐待、认为对客户进行教育会更好，以及认为伤害或疾病是意外而非故意造成的。大多数受访者不知道他们所在州关于动物虐待报告的法律现状。结论及临床意义 结果表明，州和国家的兽医及人道执法组织需要加强沟通和教育工作，以提高兽医对动物虐待及相关法律的认识和报告能力。
