Despite prohibition of the practice by law, a survey conducted by a Dutch medical magazine found that 87 human doctors responded that they had treated animals in the past.

Human doctors are forbidden from treating animals, though a survey from a Dutch medical magazine shows that this practice does occur. In fact, 87 human physicians replied to the survey, sharing their experiences with animals. Legally, animals may only be treated by veterinarians because of the risks which include:

• The relevant diseases found in the animal may not be familiar to the human physician.
• The same injury or illness to a human may have different consequences to animals.
• Some animals are too exotic, with little resemblance to humans.