© 2026 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

Veterinary professionals face high levels of stress and mental health struggles

Editor’s note: If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

There are high levels of stress and high rates of suicide among veterinary professionals. Experts say that occupational stressors like burnout and compassion fatigue play a part. Another factor may be access to euthanasia drugs.

Anna Spidel of Side Effects Public Media reports that it’s a complex issue researchers and others are trying to solve.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
Thanks to you, WUSF is here — delivering fact-based news and stories that reflect our community.⁠ Your support powers everything we do.