Psychological research is also interested in whether and with how much compassion people feel for animals. Current findings suggest that empathy for humans and empathy for animals are related but not the same. For example, a person can have a lot of empathy for their fellow human beings, but little for animals – or vice versa.
A study found that compassion for an animal can also depend on the context: When they have to choose between a human and an animal – i.e. in a competitive situation – more people choose to sympathize with another human than with an animal. However, without competition from humans, more people chose animals.
A particular challenge in veterinary medicine is that doctors treat the animal, but its welfare depends on the owner. This is what researchers write in an Austrian study. Their survey of more than 400 veterinarians in Austria, published in 2024, came to the conclusion that the suffering of animals and communication with animal owners are among the highest stress factors in this work.
When it comes to communication, the researchers even found a correlation with depression, insomnia and stress. It could help, for example, to raise awareness of mental health during your studies and to support practitioners, taking time for self-care and learning stress management.
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