Benchmarking data drawn from tens of thousands of neutering cases over two decades is revealed in new report

We have released the 20^th anniversary edition of the National Audit for Small Animal Neutering (NASAN) benchmarking report, which reveals the full dataset collected over two decades.

This anniversary report contains post-operative complication data from neutering cases of 90,363 dogs, cats and rabbits carried out between 2005 and 2025 in the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI).

Among the results being revealed for the first time are the pan-UK complication rates by species and procedure for the last two decades.

The benchmark outcomes for all spay procedures where no abnormality was present by species were:

• Dogs – 76%
• Cats –  86%
• Rabbits – 81%

The benchmarks for outcomes for all castrate procedures where no abnormality was present by species were:

• Dogs  – 75%
• Cats – 95%
• Rabbits – 78%

The benchmarks above exclude any patients lost to follow-up and are therefore representative of 76,222 cases across all species.  Unlike the data for cats & dogs, the data set for rabbits is much smaller, so the benchmarks for rabbits are less robust.

Now that the latest data is available RCVS Knowledge is calling on veterinary teams to:

1. Read the latest report
2. Use the report to guide their own audit and quality improvement initiatives
3. Contribute neutering data to the NASAN

This will allow them to learn about the national benchmarks, compare them to their own practice, contribute to the evidence base, and improve the quality of care they provide.

Katie Mantell, Chief Executive Officer at RCVS Knowledge, said: “Over the last 20 years the NASAN has become a respected data set that provides veterinary professionals with reliable data to help them benchmark and audit complications associated with neutering in their own practices.

“The NASAN can only exist because veterinary professionals across the UK and Ireland willingly contribute their data for the betterment of surgical outcomes for dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs. Thank you to everyone who has submitted their data over the last two decades. Once you’ve finished reading the benchmarking report, I hope you’ll be inspired to start contributing your own practice’s data to the NASAN.”

The benchmarks in the report can be used by practices as a reference point to understand their own audit data, to highlight strengths and work towards improvements in the quality of care.

Data is supplied to the NASAN voluntarily by veterinary professionals with a commitment to improving the evidence base on neutering outcomes.

NASAN was launched in 2005 and has been managed by RCVS Knowledge since 2018.

Read the annual benchmarking report on the RCVS Knowledge website and use the data to make improvements to your neutering outcomes.

Contribute your data to the NASAN.

National Audit for Small Animal Neutering

NASAN is a free audit that empowers teams across the UK and Republic of Ireland to track, compare and improve outcomes following neutering procedures in small animals.

Find out more about the audit