Program Overview

Animal Welfare, Ethics and Policy

The Animal Welfare, Ethics, and Policy Signature Opportunity at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University builds on the Center for Animals and Public Policy's (CAPP) 30-year tradition of teaching ethics and values.

Linking Human-Animal Relationships and Well-Being

At the heart of this program is CAPP’s mission: the idea that understanding human-animal relationships helps improve the well-being of both humans and animals. Educating veterinary students about this connection and the underlying concept of “One Health” creates opportunities for graduates to make a difference for animals and society in any career path, from private practice to public service.

Program Goals

The Animal Welfare, Ethics, and Policy Signature Opportunity:

• Educates future veterinarians to better serve clients, patients, and society through an understanding of the vital role animals play in families and communities.
• Empowers students to lead efforts that enhance animal and human health in underserved communities.
• Prepares graduates to influence policy, helping to shape government, community, and institutional practices that promote animal health and welfare.
• Increases student awareness of societal trends that affect the veterinary profession.

Curriculum

Core Courses

• Human-Animal Relationships: Founded in the 1980s by Dr. Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence, a distinguished veterinarian and anthropologist, this course introduces first-year D.V.M. students to the many social and cultural contexts in which people and animals interact and how diverse value systems influence our ideas of animal welfare.
• Law and Veterinary Medicine: This course introduces second-year D.V.M. students to the basics of the legal system, exploring topics of particular relevance to veterinarians and veterinary practice, including malpractice, animal cruelty, and professional responsibility.
• Ethics and Veterinary Medicine: In this course, second-year D.V.M. students learn to apply principles of ethical reasoning to decision-making in veterinary practice in the clinic, animal shelter, laboratory, farm, and other settings.
• Euthanasia Workshop: Third-year D.V.M. students take an intensive lecture-discussion workshop that addresses appropriate methods of euthanasia, situations in which euthanasia is utilized, ethical implications of euthanasia, and the emotional aspects of euthanasia as they relate to client, staff, and veterinarian grief.
• Ethics Case Study: In this small-group seminar, convened during fourth-year clinical rotations, all D.V.M. students are asked to present to classmates and a faculty facilitator the ethical dimension of a case that they have either handled or observed themselves.

Selectives and Electives

First- and second-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) students can choose from a variety of elective courses that encourage deeper exploration of animal-related issues encountered in veterinary practice and within their communities.

• Many electives are offered jointly with the Master of Science in Animals and Public Policy (MAPP) and Master of Science in Conservation Medicine (MCM) programs, enriching classroom discussions with diverse perspectives from across disciplines.
• Electives are available during the D.V.M. Preclinical Elective Week and throughout the clinical year curriculum.

Examples of selectives include:

• Animal Law: Under the law, animals are considered property, but the courts are increasingly recognizing that animals possess unique interests. This elective delves into the statutes and landmark court decisions that impact the health, well-being, and legal status of animals.
• Dairy Farm Welfare Tours and Assessment: Students visit several dairy farms that are clients of the Tufts Veterinary Field Service. During these tours, they gain exposure to aspects of dairy production and different farming methods.
• Wildlife in Captivity: This elective examines the various reasons behind the captivity of wildlife, including in zoos and aquariums, as pets, for entertainment, trade, education, research, and rehabilitation.
• Introduction to Animal Welfare: Explore the foundations of animal welfare—what it means, why it matters, and how it’s measured. This elective provides an overview of the history, legislation, and policies that shape animal welfare in the U.S. and around the world.
• Applied Animal Behavior: This elective explores the behavior of common companion animals across family, community, and shelter environments. Students learn to interpret animal body language, recognize typical and problem behaviors, and examine how human perceptions shape our understanding of animal behavior.
• Human-Animal Bond and Working Dogs: This elective covers the science of the health effects of living with pets, terminology and legal access for service animals and emotional support animals, animal-assisted interventions, primary and preventative care in working dogs, and a demonstration of police working dogs.

Faculty

• Seana Dowling-Guyer, M.S., Associate Director, Collaborative for Shelter Dogs
• Meera Gatlin, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health
• Erin King-Podzaline, D.V.M., M.Sc., Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Ambulatory Medicine and Theriogenology
• Megan Mueller, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Comparative Pathobiology
• India Napier, M.S., Ph.D., D.V.M., DACLAM, Assistant Professor, Department of Comparative Pathobiology
• Allen Rutberg, Ph.D., Associate Research Professor & Director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy, Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health

Research Areas

The program focuses on various research areas, including:

• Human-animal interaction (HAI)
• Positive youth development
• Human-animal interaction and public policy
• Deer and wild horse immunocontraception
• Suburban deer controversies and population management
• Wild horse management
• Ungulate social organization
• Pain mitigation for common husbandry procedures in livestock
• Impact of Spanish translational services/trainings on dairy cow welfare and farm productivity

Conclusion

The Animal Welfare, Ethics, and Policy Signature Opportunity at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University offers a comprehensive program that educates future veterinarians about the vital role animals play in families and communities, empowering them to lead efforts that enhance animal and human health in underserved communities and prepare them to influence policy and shape government, community, and institutional practices that promote animal health and welfare.