Preliminary Exploration of Weekly Peer Group Discussions as a Strategy for Coping with Feelings Associated with Euthanasia in Dairy Caretakers

Abstract

Dairy caretakers experience a variety of occupational risks including stress related to performing euthanasia and making euthanasia-related decisions for cattle in their care. Few supportive interventions exist to help caretakers cope with euthanasia-related stress. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of weekly peer discussion sessions as an intervention to reduce euthanasia-related stress and grief in dairy caretakers. This study utilized scores from a modified pet-based bereavement questionnaire to assess the change in bereavement of caretakers in response to euthanasia-related stress in a non-treatment group (who did not attend peer discussion sessions, n = 7) and a treatment group (who attended peer discussion sessions, n = 15). Key findings of this study were that discussion sessions did not have a direct impact on the study outcomes as measured using a pet bereavement scale, as there was no difference in the change in bereavement scores during the 8 week study period between the treatment and non-treatment groups. Thematic analysis of peer discussions revealed that compassion towards dairy cattle is a prominent factor in areas of decision making, protocols, and training. Further studies should continue to explore how performing euthanasia and making euthanasia-related decisions impacts caretakers and what supportive interventions can reduce stress and grief.

End‐of‐life decision‐making of dairy cattle and calves: A survey of British farmers and veterinary surgeons

“…7 Some have suggested that the combination of training and protocols are an integral part of the euthanasia decision-making process, largely because it provides an opportunity to address the emotional stress and bereavement that are not a component of the written protocol. 8 The average mortality risk of 4% in the milking herd and 4% in youngstock in our study was slightly lower than reports for the US, 4 Canadian 9 and Danish 5 dairy farms, while similar to a survey of Italian dairy farms (3.7%). 10 In our study, similar to US dairy herds, 4 youngstock were less likely to be euthanased than animals in the milking herd.…”

“… 7 Some have suggested that the combination of training and protocols are an integral part of the euthanasia decision‐making process, largely because it provides an opportunity to address the emotional stress and bereavement that are not a component of the written protocol. 8 …”

“…Some veterinary surgeons, however, have called into question the utility of relying on written euthanasia protocols and believe that they should be accompanied by interactive on‐farm training to improve engagement with the protocol and improve comprehension of a protocol that is typically written using veterinary terminology 7 . Some have suggested that the combination of training and protocols are an integral part of the euthanasia decision‐making process, largely because it provides an opportunity to address the emotional stress and bereavement that are not a component of the written protocol 8 …”

Assessment of time to death, brain tissue damage and clinical signs of consciousness in mature Jersey x Holstein cattle receiving a secondary penetrating captive bolt gunshot at the poll or frontal sinus locations

“…1,2 Failure to achieve this is not only distressful to animals, but human caretakers as well. 3,4 It is therefore very important for the dairy industry to continually re-evaluate the efficacy of different euthanasia methods.…”