Euthanasia of companion animals: a legal and ethical analysis

In Italy, the conditions under which euthanasia of small pets is justified are only partially regulated by law n. 281/1991, article 2 n. 6 and 9, by the later Ministry Circular n. 9 made on 10/03/1992 and by law n. 189/2004. Law n. 281/1991, besides delegating the job of birth control in cat and dog populations to the regions, has made it statutory that stray dogs may only be euthanised when they are 'seriously or incurably ill or proven to be dangerous'. The Ministry Circular underlines the fact that 'euthanasia of dogs is prohibited except in special justified cases'. On the other hand, due to the legal classification of animals as property, the owner has the right of ownership over his animal so that he can sell it and kill it (ius vitae ac necis). In this view a request for euthanasia is licit, whatever the animal's state of health may be. The authors feel that further legislation to regulate the question more completely would be opportune and thus they analyse the problems of legal-ethics and public health that a veterinarian faces when carrying out euthanasia, also bearing in mind the laws and codes of professional ethics. They suggest possible solutions which could be adopted by the competent authorities.