al" judgment. The argument, as depicted in these pages, seem to put the vet's having to earn a living, versus the critics of procedures like ear cropping or euthanasia of healthy animals.
The author asks whether ethics can be dealt with rationally and what morally relevant differences there exist in ethical decision making. For vets this may include recognizing that their animal patients feel pain, which should be alleviated. There are four types of moral problems in veterinary medicine: relations to their peers, relationship to clients, moral problems about obligation to the animals, and obligation to society in general. One of the most valid points in the chapter is "Don't be cruel if you don't have to be" (p. 45). This brings into sharp focus the arguments about using animals for laboratory experiments. Vets have a "rare opportunity" to help shape the profession into more ethical and moral practices.
Chapter 3: Laws Establishing the Practice of Veterinary Medicine
The reason for state licensing is obvious: to assure quality. The various states each have basic laws that govern the practice of veterinary medicine. The federal government also has regulatory powers over drug use, while even local municipalities are involved in such areas as zoning of land.
This chapter defines the practice of veterinary medicine: anyone who is engaged in the practice of veterinary medicine, who diagnoses or prescribes a drug or some treatment for cure or relief of a wound or illness of an animal (an exception is someone who administers medication or offers treatment under the direct supervision of a licensed veterinarian); who performs surgical or dental operations on an animal; who performs any manual procedure to determine pregnancy or sterility or fertility on livestock; or who uses any words to describe him (or her-)self as conducting veterinary medicine. Tending to one's own animals is not regarded as requiring certificatio...