Cattle vets focus on industry challenges

THERE likely were some less-familiar faces handling emergency vet calls on farms last week. The reason is that a good many vets were in Omaha for the annual meeting of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. Right at 1,000 veterinarians attended the meeting. There were scores of seminars, workshops, and research reports on topics ranging from effective clothing and footwear for vets to ultrasound basics and from BVD transmission between wildlife and cattle to how to deal with neck, shoulder, and arm problems. Herd checks are hard work.

Many of the general sessions at the AABP meeting this year dealt with issues surrounding responsible drug use. A major focus was on the need for veterinarians and producers to follow drug labels carefully and to be very diligent when using extra-label drug treatments with special emphasis on the need for a valid veterinarian, client, patient relationship.

We heard at the meeting that there are dozens of organizations, most well-funded, but misguided, that want to shut down the U.S. livestock industry. Passing laws banning or severely restricting use of antibiotics is one way they are trying to do that. Never mind that there is no conclusive evidence linking food animal antibiotic use with antibiotic resistance in humans. Those groups also don’t seem to be concerned about how inhumane it is to not treat a sick animal just as it would be unthinkable to not treat a sick person.

A lot of what groups like AABP and the American Veterinary Medical Association do is to go to bat for the food animal industries on issues such as antibiotic use and animal welfare.

Antibiotics spotlighted in Washington

Animal agriculture has once again taken the stage in Washington. According to the New York Times, Obama administration officials recently announced that they will seek a ban on routine use of seven classes of antibiotics on farm animals. While the ban would not stop the use of antibiotics completely, it would stop the use of antibiotics within those classes without the guidance of a veterinarian. Not surprisingly, most farm animal groups oppose the proposed legislation. However, while defending our current practices is needed, a more proactive approach to the criticism might be warranted, as well. A renewed commitment to educating ourselves as producers about antibiotics could be just what consumers are looking for.

In this month’s issue of the Journal of Dairy Science, a research project regarding bovine veterinarian’s knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding antibiotic resistance on Ohio dairy farms was published. While the research was limited to Ohio bovine veterinarians and had a goal of discussing antibiotics' impact on animal rather than human health, it was clear that those surveyed believed they could be doing a better job of communicating improved protocols. Of the small group that was surveyed, only 23 percent reported that they consistently provided customers with treatment protocols each time antibiotics were prescribed. More than 75 percent of those surveyed believed that one-on-one meetings and handouts including good management practices, diagnosis descriptions, and appropriate dosages of antibiotics would be effective ways to educate clients.

Tail docking and antibiotics under fire in California

When proposition 2 passed in California, new housing restrictions were placed on egg-laying hens, veal calves and pregnant sows. Just last month, California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez introduced a bill that would outlaw tail docking. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) opposed proposition 2 but does not stand behind tail docking.

Just today, we learned of the Majority Leader’s plan to prohibit schools from serving meat or poultry products from animals treated with antibiotics. The bill would also place a ban on antibiotics for non-therapeutic and prophylactic uses. Finally, the bill would require state and local governments, when purchasing meat supplies, to prefer meat supplies produced without the use of medically important antibiotics as feed additives. See the .pdf link below to view the bill.

SB416.pdf

One thing is for certain; farmers and animal agriculture advocates across the country should be ready to educate the public on the measures we take to be good animal caretakers. Comment below to share your thoughts.