The veterinary industry faces a unique challenge: while roughly 70% of workplace injuries are animal-related, OSHA currently provides no specific requirements for animal handling safety training. This leaves a critical gap in protection for veterinary professionals.
To bridge this gap, our team at Certified Safety Training (CST) partnered with Fear Free to design a survey grounded in real-world client experience and industry best practices. The CST Veterinary Safety Survey was distributed across both CST and Fear Free client bases, as well as through social channels.
We collected self-reported workplace injury data from over 80 U.S. veterinary practices from 2020-2024 and conducted an independent Five-Year Retrospective Analysis. This study examined how dedicated safety culture and specific handling techniques impact the physical and professional health of clinic teams.
Key findings from the report include:
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Injury Reduction: Clinics utilizing animal-handling safety training saw a meaningful decrease in injuries across all categories.
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Retention Benefits: A strong correlation exists between high safety scores and significantly lower staff turnover.
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Reporting Maturity: Mature safety cultures lead to better reporting, providing a more accurate picture of clinic health.
Is your clinic doing enough to protect its team? Discover the data-driven strategies that are redefining veterinary safety.
