PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Spring 2021 - 25

states as to legal protections for
production animal welfare.
Because of the lack of legislation
regarding production animal welfare,
professional organizations such as the
AVMA, the American Association of
Bovine Practitioners (AABP), and other
species-specific veterinary associations
for poultry, swine, and small ruminants,
have developed guidelines for the
humane care of production animals.
However, these guidelines are not
agreed upon by all professionals
and animal welfare organizations-a
recent example is a call to review the
AVMA's Depopulation Guidelines to
reclassify ventilatory shutdown as not
recommended.
Additionally, because these are guidelines
put forth by professional organizations,
the enforcement of these guidelines is
generally left in the hands of individual
practitioners. Large animal practitioners
are placed in a difficult situation when
their ethical duty to uphold the welfare
of their patients conflicts with the
needs and desires of producers and the
opinions of the general public, who are
often several generations removed from
the farming community. It is the job of
the veterinarian to educate producers
and consumers on the recommended
guidelines for animal care and ensure the
welfare of their patients above all else.

FARM Helps Maintain High
Standards of Care in the Dairy
Industry
In the dairy industry, the National Dairy
FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible
Management) Program is an industrywide, " on-farm social responsibility
program that provides assurances that
U.S. dairy farmers are global leaders in
animal care, " shares Emily Yeiser Stepp,
the vice president of the program. FARM
was founded in 2009 and " commits
U.S. dairy farmers to high-quality onfarm management practices for safe,
sustainable dairy production. The
program relies on veterinarians. "
The FARM program focuses on four silos:
animal care, antimicrobial stewardship,
environmental stewardships, and
workforce development. " Veterinarians,

from the inception of the program,
have been a foundational component
for ensuring that the dairy industry is
committed to animal care, " says Yeiser
Stepp. As part of the animal care silo,
farms must maintain a VCPR annually and
work with their veterinarian to develop
herd health plans and review protocols
annually.
Veterinarians play a critical role in
advocating for good welfare for all
cows on the farm through their regular
communication with farm management.
They also help to provide training " to
family and non-family employees in the
key areas that FARM outlines including
stockmanship, calf care, non-ambulatory
animal management, euthanasia and
fitness to transport, " adds Yeiser Stepp.

Role of the Large Animal
Veterinarian
Dr. Kull acknowledges that, " Focusing
on the animal's comfort and minimizing
painful and stressful situations with
humane handling techniques is where we
continually are trying to improve industry
standards for both veterinarians and
producers. "
She has been placed in the awkward
situation of seeing farms that are not
meeting the welfare needs of their
animals. Dr. Kull stresses that having an
honest conversation is always the first
step to improving animal welfare: " I don't
think it works to just tell a producer that
a situation is not good or that they need
to stop doing a procedure. I need to
provide a reason and explain how we can
do a better job for the animal's welfare,
including a plan to move forward in the
future include trainings and follow-up. "

Role of the PVMA
The PVMA supports veterinarians
in all areas of practice throughout
Pennsylvania. The organization recognizes
the challenges that large animal
veterinarians face and are working on
initiatives to protect the profession from
the illegal practice of veterinary medicine.
Additionally, the PVMA is working to
advance animal welfare in the state. A
major goal of the PVMA's Legislative
and Regulatory Affairs Committee
(LRAC) in 2021 is the creation of an
Animal Welfare task force. This taskforce
would unite stakeholders from the
veterinary community and animal welfare
organizations to advise the legislature in
creating the best possible laws to support
welfare of animals of all species.
References
1. AVMA. Animal welfare: What is it? Available
at https://www.avma.org/resources/animalhealth-welfare/animal-welfare-what-it.
Accessed February 12, 2021.
2. AVMA, FVE, CVMA. Joint AVMA-FVE-CVMA
statement on the roles of veterinarians in
promoting animal welfare. Available at
https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/
avma-policies/joint-avma-fve-cvma-rolesveterinarians-promoting-animal-welfare.
Accessed February 15, 2021.
3. USDA. Animal welfare act. Available at
https://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/animalwelfare-act. Accessed February 15, 2021.
4. H.R. 724 - Preventing animal cruelty and
torture act. Available at https://www.congress.
gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/724/text.
Accessed February 15, 2021.

Large animal veterinarians serve as
a link between producers and
consumers and play an essential role in
educating both groups, especially as the
science around animal welfare continues
to develop. " Ensuring animal welfare
is a continuous improvement journey, "
says Yeiser Stepp, " so, particularly from
the general public standpoint, if welfare
science supports a shift in management
strategies, the industry will need time to
embrace those shifts. "

Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association | 25



PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Spring 2021

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