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HSVMA Policy Statements
Cosmetic and Convenience Procedures in Companion AnimalsHSVMA opposes surgical procedures performed on a companion animal solely for the cosmetic preference or convenience of the caregiver. Examples of such procedures include ear cropping and tail docking in dogs; devocalization of dogs and cats; and declawing or tendonectomy of cats. Exceptions to this position would be the rare instances in which such surgeries are performed for therapeutic purposes. HSVMA urges canine breed clubs to eliminate ear cropping and tail docking from dog breed standards. Approved by the HSVMA Board of Directors, November 2010 Free-Roaming, Abandoned and Feral Cats, and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)HSVMA supports humane, non-lethal solutions to address concerns associated with free-roaming, abandoned and feral cats. These concerns include the number of cats, their quality of life and their potential negative impact on wildlife, the environment, and public health. HSVMA advocates community-based Trap-Neuter-Return programs with ongoing responsible management as the most viable, long-term approach available at this time to reduce feral cat populations. The location of feral cat colonies is an extremely important issue and reinforces the need for a community-based approach to ensure that colonies are managed so that impacts on wildlife are minimized. HSVMA advocates indoor-only environments for companion cats and sterilization of all cats to help address the root cause of the feral cat overpopulation problem. Approved by the HSVMA Board of Directors, February 2011 Horse Slaughter and Unwanted HorsesHSVMA is opposed to the commercial slaughter of horses and other equids. Each year, tens of thousands of American horses including riding horses, children’s ponies, carriage horses, and race horses, among others, are inhumanely transported to be slaughtered for overseas consumption. The majority are young, healthy animals who could have gone on to lead productive lives. Horse slaughter is not humane euthanasia. Horses are generally transported long distances in crowded trailers, traveling for many hours or even days on end without rest, food or water. They often arrive exhausted, dehydrated, severely injured or even dead – the result of fights or falls sustained during their journey. They panic in the kill box, making them difficult to stun accurately – and are sometimes conscious while they are suspended by a back leg, bled out, and dismembered. HSVMA promotes a commitment to lifetime care and responsible breeding practices as an essential principle of equine stewardship. In the unfortunate cases in which people are unable to continue to care for their horse, HSVMA promotes humane options including careful re-homing, relinquishment to a sanctuary or rescue facility or, when necessary, humane euthanasia by a trained professional. Approved by the HSVMA Board of Directors, October 2011 Large-Scale Commercial Dog Breeding Facilities (Puppy Mills)HSVMA advocates humane standards, common-sense limits and adequate regulatory oversight for large-scale commercial dog breeding facilities, also known as ‘puppy mills.’ Puppy mill dogs are generally treated as factory-farmed livestock by kennel operators striving to maximize profits at the expense of the health and welfare of their dogs. In these operations, the dogs are confined to small cages, endure continuous breeding, receive minimal to no veterinary care, endure poor husbandry and are deprived of human companionship, exercise and socialization. Careless breeding practices at puppy mills contribute to inherited conditions that negatively impact the health of the puppies and ultimately generations of purebred dogs. Furthermore, overbreeding contributes to the nationwide pet overpopulation problem and to the euthanasia of more than a million perfectly healthy, but unwanted, dogs each year. Approved by the HSVMA Board of Directors, February 2011 Non-Therapeutic Use of Antibiotics in Farm AnimalsThe HSVMA supports federal legislation that would phase out the routine non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in farm animals. Antibiotic overuse is a common practice in animal agriculture, with the drugs routinely added to animal feed for growth promotion and to compensate for crowded, stressful and unsanitary conditions on industrial farms. Antibiotics are readily available over the counter for farm use and often there is no veterinary prescription or oversight of their application. Profligate use of these drugs threatens to ruin the effectiveness of antibiotics for treating sick animals and people and the increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a looming health challenge. We join with the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association and more than 150 other human health organizations in supporting efforts to restrict such non-judicious uses of antibiotics in order to protect animal and human health. Approved by the HSVMA Board of Directors, October 2011 The Veterinarian’s Role in Reporting Animal CrueltyThe Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association urges all veterinarians to report suspected cases of animal cruelty, whether it be in the form of passive neglect or active, malicious abuse, to the proper officials charged with investigating and prosecuting such incidents. Due to our position and training, veterinarians are likely to encounter such situations professionally and may also be sought as experts by law officials seeking to identify whether a crime has been committed. Our medical training confers on us the knowledge and authority to identify maltreatment and suffering in animals, whether owned or stray, companion or agricultural, domestic or wild, and to make such suffering intelligible in a court of law if requested. Thus, it is incumbent upon us to familiarize ourselves with our state’s anti-cruelty laws, to report such abuse and/or neglect to the proper authorities. If asked by law officers to serve as an expert witness, it is hoped that the veterinarian will assist to the best of his/her abilities. The veterinarian should use his/her judgment to determine whether the situation is sufficiently grave to warrant the calling of law enforcement officers to investigate and charge the owner with a crime, or whether the animal’s mistreatment is minor enough to permit instructing the owner as to proper care, requesting the owner to correct a list of deficiencies within a given time frame. Failure to do so might then warrant reporting this neglect (abuse) to the authorities. In addition, veterinarians should promote the passage of laws in each state that mandate the reporting of animal cruelty by veterinarians when observed or suspected, while also promoting legislation that protects veterinarians from civil, criminal, or professional liability when making such a claim in good faith. If a particular state lacks adequate animal protection laws, then it is hoped that our profession would be a significant voice to assist in the drafting of effective anti-cruelty legislation or to amend existing deficient laws. Since the connection between a criminal’s initial animal cruelty and his/her future violence directed against humans is now well established, veterinarians have the opportunity to make their communities safer by assisting law enforcement officials in the reporting and prosecution of animal cases, thereby identifying possible future perpetrators of violent crimes. As a corollary to this, it is also critically important for the veterinarian to participate in “cross reporting”, i.e. to report obvious human abuse and neglect to the proper authorities when seen or suspected in the investigation of an animal cruelty case. The HSVMA hopes to see more education available, both in formal veterinary school curricula and in continuing education, for our colleagues in the field of recognizing, documenting, and reporting animal cruelty. Approved by the HSVMA Board of Directors, October 2011 |