It may be hard to comprehend why someone would deliberately hurt an animal and then seek veterinary attention. Alternatively, the animal might be brought for veterinary attention by somebody else. However, regardless of the type of practice and even in slaughterhouses, veterinary surgeons may be faced with cases of animal maltreatment and abuse. It is of key importance that veterinary surgeons (and their teams) are able to recognise abuse and report their concerns accordingly. Unfortunately, currently some vets are poorly trained, or not trained at all, to recognize cases of abuse, and even less to manage them.