Mass Depopulation of Swine during COVID-19: An Exploration of Swine Veterinarians’ Perspectives

Abstract

This qualitative study (n = 25) was created to better understand the mental health of U.S. swine veterinarians who were involved in the mass depopulation events related to COVID-19. A total of 25 swine veterinarians, participants in a previous larger quantitative study, volunteered to be interviewed about their experiences related to the COVID-19 mass depopulation event. Themes that emerged from these interviews included: (1) the need to be better prepared for crisis events; (2) lack of public understanding; (3) moral distress; (4) empathy for others, especially young veterinarians; (5) sources of support; (6) pride, honor and gratitude; and (7) an overarching theme of emotional distancing and detachment—concerns external to one’s own mental health. Based on our results, we recommend additional training and supportive services for those who might be involved in future depopulation efforts. Additionally, we suggest that the veterinary profession prioritize public education campaigns to help the public better understand the need for depopulation.

Water-based medium-expansion foam depopulation of adult cattle

“…Studies from the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the United Kingdom found that those involved in animal depopulation had negative emotional impacts that included distress, bereavement, and fear ( Mort et al, 2005 ). Surveys of veterinarians involved in swine depopulation efforts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic showed high levels of burnout and emotional trauma ( Baysinger and Kogan, 2022 ; Bussolari et al, 2022 ; Kollias et al, 2023 ). While depopulation is always likely to cause some level of emotional stress on personnel, physical methods of euthanasia have been shown to be associated with higher rates of burnout, compassion fatigue, and poor professional quality of life as compared to nonphysical methods ( LaFollette et al, 2020 ).…”

The Rise of Heatstroke as a Method of Depopulating Pigs and Poultry: Implications for the US Veterinary Profession

“…Depopulation-associated ethical quandaries are too vast and their causes too entrenched, for individual veterinarians to resolve on their own, particularly in moments of crisis [21,150]. As one veterinarian recounted, the enormous workload and "constant moving and acting" precluded them from having "enough time to really think about the morality" of the depopulation [21].…”

“…Depopulation-associated ethical quandaries are too vast and their causes too entrenched, for individual veterinarians to resolve on their own, particularly in moments of crisis [21,150]. As one veterinarian recounted, the enormous workload and "constant moving and acting" precluded them from having "enough time to really think about the morality" of the depopulation [21]. There is mounting evidence that depopulations, especially those involving healthy animals or associated with poor animal welfare, are potent drivers of moral distress, perpetration-induced traumatic stress, burnout, and emotional detachment in participating veterinarians [20,21,153].…”

“…The selection and development of depopulation methods is complex and not always amenable to clear and simple strategies, with conflicting priorities for animal welfare, human safety, biosecurity, cost, equipment/resource availability, and operational factors. In addition, the emotional impact of depopulating animals on veterinarians and other depopulation workers has been studied as a major human well-being concern since 2001 [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27].…”