The AVA Animal Welfare Trust is supporting University of Melbourne final-year veterinary student Valencia Park in research aimed at improving anaesthetic care for dogs undergoing sterilisation in resource-limited veterinary settings.
For veterinarians operating in remote clinics, shelter environments, or outreach settings, securing controlled substances like opioids presents ongoing regulatory, logistical, and financial challenges. To provide actionable solutions for these real-world barriers, research supported by the AVA Animal Welfare Trust is evaluating evidence-based, opioid-free protocols to maintain high standards of perioperative pain management without reliance on restricted drugs.
The project, Assessment of Two Opioid-Free Anaesthetic Protocols for Canine Sterilisation in Resource-Limited Settings, investigates welfare-focused alternatives for veterinary outreach, shelter and non-profit sterilisation programs where access to controlled drugs such as opioids may be limited.
Conducted through the Melbourne Veterinary School at the University of Melbourne, the prospective study evaluates two multimodal, opioid-free anaesthetic protocols in dogs undergoing routine desexing. It assesses anaesthetic stability, physiological parameters, recovery quality and postoperative pain to determine whether these approaches can provide clinically acceptable anaesthesia and analgesia without reliance on opioids.
The project is supervised by Dr. Thierry Beths, veterinary anaesthetist and Associate Professor in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Pain Management at the University of Melbourne, whose expertise in anaesthesia, analgesia and veterinary outreach has helped guide the study’s clinical and practical focus.
Funding from the AVA Animal Welfare Trust will directly support the clinical delivery of the project, helping cover the anaesthetic pharmaceuticals, clinical consumables and research materials required for each study case, as well as resources associated with monitoring, data collection and analysis.
The grant will also help support dissemination of the findings through presentations at veterinary conferences, including the AVA Conference, allowing the outcomes of the research to be shared with the wider veterinary profession.
The findings may ultimately support veterinary outreach programs while contributing to humane canine population management and broader animal and community health outcomes.
