The role of the veterinary profession
The veterinary profession is essential for the proper care of animals kept in captivity and, to a lesser extent, for the health and welfare of wild fauna. If there were no veterinary medicine, it would surely be invented for the benefit of animals and mankind. This does not mean, however, that veterinarians always do 'the right thing'. Only an acute awareness of ethical dilemmas, and an ability to critically reflect, can assist in the making of appropriate decisions and the finding of acceptable compromises.

Policy and legislation on animals
Fortunately, it is now generally accepted that the well being of animals in captivity must be given reasonable consideration; this is certainly the case in most industrialised countries. The last two decades have seen the implementation of a substantial body of new, or renewed, legislation to address issues such as the welfare and use of farm and laboratory animals, the methods used for slaughtering animals and the performance of routine surgical interventions. Zoos, and similar institutions, have also made a concerted effort to improve their husbandry practices and to broaden their aims. They now run breeding programmes to help conserve endangered species as well as programmes to educate the public on the habits and natural environment of animals.

Many more difficulties are faced when genuine attempts are made to regulate the practice of selective animal breeding, which has affected the well being of some domestic species and breeds because of physiological or behavioural abnormalities. It is also much harder to address welfare issues when animals are kept as pets, perhaps because it leads to direct confrontation with the pet owning public, many of whom are neither open to criticism nor willing to change their behaviour. Collectively, the pet owning public is large and therefore represents a significant number of people with substantial political influence. Animal welfare organisations also play a major role in policy-making processes but they, too, meet barriers when the interests of their members are affected. Thus, they concentrate their attention on commercial businesses that keep and use animals primarily for profit [2].

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