“With every big outbreak, we lose staff”: The mental health impacts of depopulation on veterinarians

Abstract

Background

Depopulation, involving the mass euthanasia of livestock, is an established practice in the agricultural industry to ensure animal welfare, human health, and economic stability by preventing disease spread. There is evidence that veterinarians involved in animal-disease management and depopulation experience significant and long-lasting mental health impacts.

Objective

This study examined the mental health impacts of depopulation on veterinarians and the ways to build their resilience to these stressful events.

Procedure

Using qualitative methods, 11 veterinarians and industry experts from Alberta participated in semi-structured, one-on-one interviews between April 2023 and April 2024.

Results

Analysis revealed 3 main themes and 6 sub-themes: ongoing work-mental health tensions (including professional bond versus emotional labor, disease control versus moral distress, sense of duty versus trauma of the event), emotional detachment, and occupational distress (including emotional exhaustion, decreased job satisfaction and turnover intentions, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms). These themes were used to adapt the emergency-management framework for veterinarians involved in depopulation, to support their mental health and well-being.

Conclusion and clinical relevance

The pervasive behavioral and mental health challenges associated with depopulation highlight the necessity for education, training, support, and policy adjustments to safeguard veterinarians’ mental health and well-being.

INTRODUCTION

Mass euthanasia of livestock is part of a complex process in the agricultural industry called “depopulation,” a process of quickly and efficiently killing an entire herd or flock of animals in response to an emergency and doing so as quickly and as humanely as possible (1). Although depopulation may be necessary due to emergencies such as the temporary border closures that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic (2), it is often used for animal-disease management. There are 31 reportable diseases in Canada that can affect an animal or be transmitted by an animal to a person and are required to be reported to a veterinary inspector (3). Despite improvements in biosecurity (4), Canada reported 149 cases of herds or flocks affected by a reportable disease in 2023 (5), mostly avian influenza (AI, n = 133), followed by chronic wasting disease (n = 8), equine infectious anemia (n = 7), and bovine tuberculosis (n = 1) (5). For perspective, > 11 million birds from poultry operations have been depopulated due to AI since 2021, affecting 415 farming operations (5).

At the forefront of depopulation are veterinarians who work with their farmer client and report a suspected case, or those who work for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to confirm a case and assist with depopulation orders (3). Even when the rationale for depopulation is understood (6,7), veterinarians often experience negative effects (8,9). For example, some veterinarians reported experiencing moral distress, characterized as grief, sadness, and stress and believed to stem from the “killing-caring paradox” in which veterinarians struggle to reconcile their compassion for animals with their professional obligation to euthanize them (10,11). Others reported the additional workload of providing emotional support to farmers going through depopulation (12). For example, during the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in the United Kingdom, farmers preferred seeking support from veterinarians than community caseworkers or government staff (12).

Animal shelter workers and veterinarian nurses directly involved in euthanasia reported high levels of work stress and diminished job satisfaction (13). Another study of veterinarians involved in depopulation of swine reported elevated rates of burnout (6). Whereas veterinarians involved in depopulation have recognized the importance of mental health services (6), research shows that few use these services (6,9,14). Low mental health service use has been associated with beliefs that counselling would be ineffective (6,9,14), concerns about taking time off from work (7), and the cost of the services (6,9). Rather, veterinarians and animal service workers reported coping by separating themselves emotionally from their work (2,15). Although such approaches may provide temporary relief, they may give way to subsequent poor health outcomes (16). For example, 55.7% of the veterinarians who assisted in the 2010 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Japan reported mental distress 6 mo after the outbreak was controlled (17).

As depopulation may be associated with significant and long-lasting mental health issues (15) and livestock epidemics are challenging to control or eliminate (18), it is essential to understand how veterinarians are affected, to ensure their mental health and well-being needs are supported. Further, there is no published study examining veterinarians’ experiences during depopulation events in Canada. Recognizing this gap, we used qualitative methods to i) explore the mental health impacts of depopulation on veterinarians and ii) identify ways to build their resilience to these stressful events.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We conducted a qualitative study using descriptive phenomenology, which is an inductive approach to explore and describe an individual’s experience of a phenomenon without imposing preconceptions or interpretations (19). This method is often used when there is limited knowledge about a topic (19). Unlike interpretative phenomenology, which aims to understand the meaning of experiences within participants’ sociocultural contexts (20), this method aims to generate knowledge and provide an authentic portrayal of the phenomenon (20).

Our sample included 11 participants (9 veterinarians and 2 industry experts) from Alberta. To be included, all veterinarians needed to have experience with at least 1 depopulation event. Five of the veterinarians had worked for or were currently working for CFIA. The industry experts were representatives from species-specific commodity groups and were part of an emergency response team involved in the coordination and support of depopulation events. Participants had been employed for 24.09 y (SD = 15.90), ranging from 4 to 44 y. They ranged in age from 36 to 67 y (M = 53.64, SD = 12.64) and had experience with cattle, swine, poultry, elk and deer, and/or sheep and goats. This research was approved by the University of Alberta’s (Edmonton, Alberta) ethics review board (Pro00126250).

We recruited participants through notices posted to our study website and social media channels (e.g., Facebook, newsletters) between April 2023 and April 2024. Those interested contacted the principal investigator (PI) to schedule an interview. Participants completed an individual, semi-structured interview with the PI, either virtually or by telephone, lasting 40 to 90 min. Participants were asked 4 background questions (e.g., age, gender, job description, and animals they worked with) and 5 open-ended questions about their depopulation experience: i) Can you describe a depopulation event you were involved in? ii) In what ways, if any, did the experience impact you? iii) How did you cope during and after the experience? iv) Was there anything helpful that prepared you for the experience? v) Since being involved in depopulation, how has the experience changed your job satisfaction? Participants received a $50 gift card for an online retailer. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim.

Before analysis, all identifying information was removed from the transcripts. Participant names were replaced with pseudonyms. Next, transcripts were independently analyzed by the 3 authors. Our analysis was guided by Colaizzi’s 7-step process (21): i) review the transcripts to become familiar with them, ii) identify significant statements and phrases relevant to the topic, iii) describe the meaning of the statements and phrases, iv) merge statements to create themes and sub-themes, v) provide a full description of the topic, vi) identify the core framework that characterizes the topic, and vii) validate findings with subject-matter experts. Although we acknowledge that new meanings can always emerge from data, our decision about when to stop coding and move to the subsequent steps in the analytic process was based on our interpretative judgments (22). Specifically, we ceased coding when no new ideas were being identified and we stopped analysis when the generated themes were relevant and coherent in addressing our research question (22). Three industry experts (1 veterinarian and 2 industry experts) reviewed our findings and provided feedback that our results reflected their experiences.

As descriptive phenomenology requires researchers to generate knowledge without preconceptions and biases, we used bracketing (23). Bracketing involves acknowledging and setting aside one’s preconceptions to allow the topic to be understood more authentically from the participants’ viewpoints. For this study, 2 of the researchers (JD, DH) had limited knowledge of depopulation and veterinary practice, whereas the PI (RP) had been researching the topic for several years. All researchers discussed their personal and professional connections to the topic. All data were double-coded by the 3 authors, and we met regularly to review the goals of the study, compare interpretations, discuss differences, and reach a consensus.

RESULTS

Our analysis revealed 3 major themes and 6 sub-themes. Each theme is described below using verbatim quotes.

Ongoing work-mental health tensions

Initially, we identified 3 distinct work-related themes and 3 mental health strains. Upon deeper analysis, we observed how these themes were interrelated, reflecting a broader concept. Specifically, depopulation disrupted work roles and goals, imposing strains that spilled over into participants’ personal lives, affecting their well-being. Each sub-theme is described below.

Professional bond versus emotional labor

Years of working closely with a farmer client had fostered a deeply trusting professional bond, whereby the veterinarian became a farmer’s “go-to source” for education and an important figure in their life. One veterinarian explained, “We’re part of the family. I’ve been invited to family dinners, weddings, and even funerals… It’s not like other professions, and that’s what I tell my students. We treat people, too” (Vicky, veterinarian). During depopulation events, the support they provided to their farmer clients intensified. Even if these veterinarians were not directly involved in the depopulation order, many felt they were “brought along for the journey.” For example, a veterinarian was often the first person their farmer client contacted when they suspected their animals were sick and was the one to deliver test results. Although many described wanting to support farmers and felt it was their duty, they acknowledged how this additional work made them feel emotionally extended and pulled away from whatever they were doing. As 1 industry expert explained,

“These phone calls are happening any time of the day… You put yourself out there to support them, and you kind of live in this with them. And you’re in trauma when you leave the call because you’re going through this with them, you’re feeling their pain and it’s hard. It’s hard to go back to whatever you’re doing after that.”

(— Ryan, industry expert)

Most expressed genuine empathy for farmers going through depopulation. One veterinarian shared, “I was just at a conference with somebody who’s going through [avian influenza], and nobody sat next to him” (Chris, veterinarian). These veterinarians often called their farmer clients daily to check on how they were coping. Even veterinarians directing depopulation orders who did not know the farmers also provided this type of emotional labor. One participant explained,

“If it was a really big case that took months to clear, you could be working very closely with a farmer, without having known them before, in an incredibly stressful personal situation… You’d be caught up dealing with them daily through probably the worst emotional crisis they’ve ever had in their life. So that was very intense… I was also the person who was one-on-one supporting them through all of this.”

(— Janet, veterinarian)

Disease control versus moral distress

Participants described struggling to balance the satisfaction that came from controlling the spread of a disease and keeping people healthy with the moral distress of euthanizing animals. Many found relief in their involvement by reminding themselves that the purpose and methods were supported by science. As 1 participant explained, “Some of the successes come from helping producers. I was quite proud to be able to facilitate eradicating this very nasty disease out of 27 different farms through a process that’s science-based. There’s moments like that” (Jim, veterinarian).

Conversely, all struggled with their professional identity as their job required them to kill entire herds or flocks of animals. One participant described, “Well, if you’re directly involved as a veterinarian where you have to destroy animals, that wasn’t the reason you came into the world and it’s very hard… You know, you’re here to help them and save them… It’s hard” (Ronald, veterinarian). These feelings were particularly acute when seemingly healthy or young animals had to be killed. Several participants also mentioned that killing mammals was challenging. One participant explained,

“I’ve done lots of depops on poultry and I don’t enjoy any of it. But I was never damaged from it. Pigs are like dogs, and they make eye contact. So, I gotta tell you, the number of pigs that I killed, when they look right in my eyes… It just hits different.”

(— Alex, veterinarian)

Veterinarians involved in some of the first AI cases described feeling morally distressed because the processes and methods were not established, but acknowledged that processes had improved with subsequent outbreaks and that, now, “CFIA has got a pretty tightly run ship” (Chris, veterinarian). Others who participated in swine depopulation warned that the industry was not prepared for African swine fever.

Sense of duty versus trauma of the event

Many expressed a strong sense of duty to fulfill their job responsibilities yet struggled to euthanize so many animals. They coped by focusing on work tasks, ensuring the humane treatment of animals, and following professional guidelines. One veterinarian explained, “So you compartmentalize your job because it’s your job. You have to do it. I looked at it scientifically” (Janet, veterinarian). Others focused on the potential strengths their profession offered to public health and animal welfare. For example,

“I don’t want to see sick kids from contaminated eggs. I don’t want to see sick kids from dirty milk. I don’t want to see barns full of birds dying. And so that, by itself, helps me, and I think if I didn’t have to do too many at once, I’ll be okay.”

(— Dorothy, veterinarian)

The quote above highlights the challenge of the actual task. Participants found the actual day of euthanasia traumatic and exacerbated by knowing the farmer, long hours, limited breaks, small team size, and working consecutive days. Many noted that their drive to “just get it done” led to euthanizing a large number of animals in a single day but contributed to emotional strain, fatigue, and even physical injuries. One participant explained,

“So, I think we killed almost 500 [animals] in a day. It was a very small crew. It was a very long day… It was [spring] so it was pretty cool and wet. And I just remember we were all just, like, catatonic by the end of the day.”

(— Alex, veterinarian)

Emotional detachment

Participants described coping by emotionally detaching and focusing on completing the task. Some felt unsure how to manage their emotions or those of others, citing how their training prioritized teaching techniques and physical safety. Others described feeling guilty expressing emotions because it seemed incongruent with their professional role. One participant explained,

“[I have] lots of training on the practical [and] the physical safety of things. I have zero training on mental health, either for me or my staff, or for the people we’re dealing with… Now with some people, they’ve been so distraught that they just need to talk to somebody and so they’ll talk to me because I’m there. And you know, you listen and you do what you can, but I have to maintain my status as a regulatory vet. I am required to enforce policies, programs, or laws.”

(— Dorothy, veterinarian)

This coping mechanism, however, exacerbated participants’ struggles over time. One participant highlighted how unresolved emotions from past outbreaks contributed to their enduring mental health challenges, “I didn’t cope well. We finished everything off. I took a little bit of vacation time [but] I was very, very sick, physically sick from it… I think my body was catching up to what my eyes had seen” (Alex, veterinarian). Nearly all mentioned that they felt unprepared to cope with the depopulation and the pressures placed on them. One participant explained, “I think sometimes when we talk about mental health, the veterinarians are sometimes forgotten about because they’re the professionals” (Megan, veterinarian).

Occupational distress

Prolonged exposure to unmitigated stressors led to emotional and occupational consequences. We termed this theme “occupational distress” to reflect the ongoing strain arising from high stress, moral distress, and traumatic events of the work.

Emotional exhaustion

Participants described how the prolonged stress and workload associated with depopulation and supporting farmers made it challenging to juggle other work responsibilities and attend to their own needs. Participants described reaching a point of emotional exhaustion. Contributing to this were the frequent and intense interactions with farmer clients during depopulation that blurred boundaries between professional and personal life, leaving veterinarians feeling unable to “switch off” their professional role at home. As one participant explained, “I try to process but the problem with being an agriculture vet…is that you’re on 24/7, right? My work phone is my personal phone” (Chris, veterinarian).

Job satisfaction and turnover intentions

Direct involvement in depopulation often resulted in reduced job satisfaction due to the persistent pressure, moral distress, and limited resources. One participant explained, “You feel kind of like the doctor just giving bad diagnoses… It’s really hard” (Ryan, industry expert). Another participant explained the difficulty of retaining staff by stating, “I can see why people would not do it. With every big outbreak, we lose staff, because they just say, ‘we can’t do this’” (Dorothy, veterinarian). For several participants, their experience with depopulation prompted a reevaluation of their career path to protect their own mental health. For example, 1 participant described a negative depopulation event and simply stated that they quit their job “because of the depop” (Alex, veterinarian). For another participant, the persistent worry that they might one day have to respond to a major outbreak motivated them to leave the emergency response network:

“I didn’t want to continue working full time and having to do that… I think, the constant pressure knowing that…we’re getting more of these outbreaks and it’s just a matter of time before we get ‘the big one.’”

(— Janet, veterinarian)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms

Those directly involved in depopulation reported experiencing PTSD symptoms including vivid flashbacks of the event, nightmares, increased alcohol consumption, difficulty concentrating, guilt, and fear about when another outbreak might start. One participant described, “I’ve never been through something like that before. And so, when you start crying in the swimming pool, and you’re like, okay, am I losing it?” (Janet, veterinarian). Several warned that participating in multiple depopulation events in close succession was risky to their mental health. One participant explained, “We were really short staff last summer dealing with [disease]. And I got to the edge of what I was able to do” (Dorothy, veterinarian). Others described how their familiarity with a farmer and their animals increased their symptoms. One veterinarian stated, “I still lose sleep over those cases in [location]. I knew those producers” (Chris, veterinarian). Most stressed the need for preparing veterinarians and their staff for what they might see during a depopulation, so they could mentally prepare themselves. One veterinarian explained,

“[Y]ou need to have discussions with people before they do these things so that they’re prepared for what they’re going to see. I mean, you can’t unsee, unsmell, and unhear those things… I was diagnosed with PTSD from what happened.”

(— Alex, veterinarian)

Depopulation emergency-management framework

Using data from our study, we adapted the emergency-management framework (24,25) to illustrate ways of minimizing mental health threats for veterinarians involved in depopulation (Figure 1). This framework is a continuous 4-phase cycle: prevention, preparation, response, and recovery. A comprehensive list of potential activities for each phase is shown in Table 1. To review briefly, in the prevention phase, activities include familiarizing veterinarians with biosecurity measures so they can communicate these to their farmer clients and reinforce why they are important, and enhancing mental health literacy through veterinary college curricula and professional education. In the preparation phase, proactive depopulation training, protocol reviews, and discussions with staff are essential. Building a network of mentally prepared veterinarians may prevent adverse mental health outcomes from repeated depopulation events. During the response phase, effective crisis management should involve continuous communication with CFIA, industry representatives, and the farmer, alongside support from an industry liaison or crisis support worker familiar with agriculture. In the recovery phase, reviewing policies and protocols, encouraging counselling, and conducting staff debriefs are crucial. The debriefs should focus on what went well, challenges faced, and process improvements. This framework aims to support veterinarians through every stage, ultimately enhancing their resilience and capacity to manage the emotional and psychological demands of their work.

FIGURE 1.

Depopulation emergency-management framework for veterinarians.

TABLE 1.

Activities to support depopulation risk management for veterinarians.

Phase	Activities
Prevention	Familiarize veterinarians with biosecurity measures so they can communicate these with their clients and reinforce the importance of incorporating these measures into their operations. Integrate mental health literacy content into veterinary college curricula and ongoing professional development training opportunities.
Preparation	Provide mental health training to the emergency response team to ensure they: — are familiar with mental health warning signs. — feel confident and comfortable discussing mental health issues. — are familiar with stress-management strategies. — have resources such as counselors or crisis hotlines to contact. Provide an overview of the depopulation process to ensure staff have a realistic preview of what to expect (e.g., integrate guest speakers). Prepare and/or review a crisis tool kit, which is a booklet containing species-specific disease information, timelines, protocols, and tips for supporting crisis-response teams and the farmer during a depopulation event. Review the depopulation process to identify and minimize potential mental health triggers. Identify crisis counsellors and therapists in the region who can accept new clients on short notice. Create a resource sheet that can be shared and provides a list of available counsellors and therapists in the area, as well as crisis hotline numbers.
Response	Use the crisis-response tool kit to guide conversations with veterinarians, farmers, and staff. Include an industry liaison to support the farmer and ensure they have access to a counselor for their mental health needs. Ensure that breaks are scheduled during the euthanasia process for staff to rest, evaluate, and change their roles; and provide an opportunity to debrief at the end of the day to discuss goals and the process and check on each other’s well-being.
Recovery	Conduct a debriefing session with staff to review what went well, what challenges were faced, and how the process could be improved. This session could be led by a staff supervisor or an external facilitator. Encourage staff to participate in counseling. Review protocols and policies and make recommendations for improvement.

DISCUSSION

Our study provided insights about the ways depopulation can negatively affect the mental health of veterinarians. We also learned how veterinarians fulfilled different roles in depopulation events that influenced their experiences in different ways. Some operated outside the depopulation process, offering continuous emotional and informational support to their farmer clients. They noted their farmer clients preferred confiding in them due to established trust developed over years of service, consistent with previous research that farmers relied on veterinarians during crises (12,26). Veterinarians who operated within the depopulation process and carried out the orders were sympathetic to the farmers but felt they needed to focus on regulatory compliance and safety protocols.

Veterinarians commonly experienced moral distress when tasked with euthanizing entire herds or flocks. This aligned with previous research on veterinary professionals and animal shelter workers (6,7) and supported Arluke’s (10) concept of the killing-caring paradox. For many, euthanizing a large number of animals created an internal conflict that threatened their professional identity and decreased their job satisfaction, led to turnover intentions, and affected their mental health. Veterinarians providing continuous high levels of emotional support experienced emotional exhaustion, an element of burnout. Burnout is a psychological syndrome comprising emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a sense of reduced personal accomplishment (27). In previous research, Canadian veterinarians reported higher levels of burnout, compassion fatigue, and suicidal ideation compared to the general population (28).

Emotional detachment and focusing solely on the task to cope was common among participants. Although these strategies may offer temporary relief in uncontrollable and stressful situations (29), they typically provide few long-term benefits. Not surprisingly, most experienced distress and several described having PTSD symptoms following depopulation, including intrusive thoughts and cognitive and emotional changes such as anxiety and feeling triggered by certain sounds, smells, and images. Some researchers have labeled this form of PTSD “perpetration-induced traumatic stress” (7,30). Although perpetration-induced traumatic stress does not involve a direct threat to a veterinarian, witnessing traumatic events and actively participating in them threatens their ethical character and identity as someone who cares for animals (7,30). As with PTSD, the prolonged mental health impact of depopulation often surfaced weeks after the event. This is consistent with a study that reported 50% of veterinarians involved in an emergency response experienced immediate behavioral health issues and 32% reported still having symptoms 6 mo later (15).

There are several implications of the findings. Drawing upon the experiences of our participants, our recommendations in Table 1 align with suggestions of other researchers (31). For example, veterinarians would benefit from tailored training and education to address the unique challenges of depopulation. Incorporating mental health components into euthanasia curricula, which traditionally focus on technical methods and physical safety, is crucial to reduce mental health difficulties (32). Our participants believed knowing what to expect could have mitigated negative effects. National organizations such as the Canadian Centre for Agricultural Wellbeing have developed crisis tool kits, disease-specific guides that provide information and offer ways to support the emotional needs of those involved in depopulation (33). Also, the Mental Health Commission of Canada offers a mental health first aid course for recognizing the early signs of mental health decline and learning ways to support someone in crisis (34). Furthermore, a growing network of therapists in Canada who are familiar with the stressors of agriculture offer counselling support (35). It is important that these resources are shared with veterinarians and their teams. Another crucial aspect of preparation involves mapping the euthanasia process. An efficient process not only outlines each step but also pinpoints potential triggers in the process so that trauma responses are minimized or eliminated.

In terms of limitations, our cross-sectional design prevented tracking participants’ well-being over time. However, to capture a broad range of perspectives, we recruited participants with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Also, our sample was small. Although we had enough data to conduct our exploratory study and generate knowledge (20), it is important that our findings are validated using larger samples and even quantitative surveys. Moreover, since our study was conducted in Canada, the findings may not generalize to other regions. Whereas further research is necessary to corroborate our findings, this study represents the first qualitative examination of the psychosocial impact of depopulation on Canadian veterinarians, providing valuable insights and comparison data.

Our analysis of veterinarians’ experiences with depopulation highlighted the complex balance between professional obligations and personal well-being, as well as long-term psychosocial consequences. A reliance on emotional detachment tended to be an ineffective coping strategy, as many participants experienced emotional exhaustion, reduced job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and even PTSD symptoms. The adapted disaster risk-management framework offers ways to understand the resources that can be provided to support veterinarians during depopulation events and decrease risks to their mental health. CVJ

Funding Statement

This study was funded by the Agricultural Research and Extension Council of Alberta through a Sustainable Canadian Partnership grant from the Alberta Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation (RES0061171).