Issues - Animal Welfare

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Issues > Animal welfare > Animal welfare policies

Animal welfare policy statements

The veterinarian's role in animal welfare (comprehensive document)

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

· 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

· Removal of Antlers (Velveting)

· 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:
· General Comments on Food Animals

· Confinement Rearing of Livestock and Poultry

· Research on Rearing of Livestock and Poultry

· 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
  · See also: Backgrounder: Dehorning

· Flank Ovariectomy

· Veal Calf Welfare

· 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

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American Veterinary Medical Association