The veterinary industry has some of the highest rates of non-fatal work-related injuries, yet safety culture remains unexplored. Utilising a survey, this study aimed to describe the prevalence of work-related injuries in equine, production animal, and mixed veterinary practices, and to understand the behaviours of injured persons. There were 144 respondents. Over 90% of clinicians experienced injury during their careers, versus a third of non-clinical staff. Injuries to equine veterinarians were predominately kicks to the leg or head, and usually involved the examination of a horses distal limb, most were not wearing hard hats. Production animal veterinarians injuries included crushed hands and feet, and kicks to legs. Injuries often lead to hospital attendance (>25% equine, >40% production animal), yet few took time off work. Veterinarians avoided taking time off work after injuries, reasons included; minimisation of injury severity, not wanting to let the team down, and feelings of guilt. Many planned behaviour change post-injury, including using protective headwear, increasing awareness of surroundings, and using better restraint. Most injuries went unreported due to lack of awareness, acceptance of injury risk, time constraints, and believing reporting would have no impact. This study exposes a culture in large animal veterinary workplaces that normalises injuries and undervalues safety. The lack of protective measures and the tendency to continue working despite serious injuries, highlight a need for urgent cultural and systemic change. Improved safety practices, leadership commitment, and comprehensive training are essential to address this deep-seated issue and fostering a safer work environment.

IS and RJ are current employees of CVS UK Ltd.

This work was funded by the CVS Clinical Research Awards (PRA00009, 2022).

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The University of Liverpool Veterinary Research Ethics Committee gave ethical approval of this work (VREC1256)

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

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I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

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All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors