Dr. Eoin Ryan:

For the sake of argument, if an animal is in an extreme situation, what then? This was about reflecting on what would be best ethically in that type of circumstance. There is a lot of discussion under way on this point, but I think it is likely that the text will stay as it is now and that only vets will be allowed to put down animals. It is a wider question whether there would ever be circumstances where, if it were just not possible to get a vet within a few hours, for whatever reason, we should allow an animal to go on suffering if another person has the wherewithal to put the animal down. It was less a discussion about whether non-vets should be allowed to put animals down at will and more so about whether one should legislate to say "never ever" or "never unless there is an extreme circumstance". Again, it is an example of the discussions at this working party. People were in agreement on the generalities. I think, however, that the draft text on this facet of the regulation is likely to remain unchanged after a lot of discussion. It is a nuanced point.