Veterinarians are calling on the Federal Government to acknowledge the important role they play in society, following Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement last night of a lockdown on ‘non-essential’ businesses and services to curb the spread of the COVID-19.
The Australian Veterinary Association said so far, veterinary services had not been mentioned in either of the government’s two statements on which particular services were designated ‘non-essential’ and would be required to shut down.
Dr Julia Crawford
“GP clinics and pharmacies were confirmed to be essential from the onset, as they rightly should be, but veterinary services have been left in the lurch – we urgently need acknowledgement of our ‘essential’ status so we can continue to maintain animal health and welfare without interruption,” said AVA president, Dr Julia Crawford.
“Vets provide critical services for the care and treatment of all species of animals, including companion animals, equine, wildlife, aquatic animals and livestock. They are pivotal in contributing to public health and biosecurity systems – which is of the utmost importance at the present time,” Dr Crawford said.
Vets also had a very specific role in public health at this time, assessing and interpreting the role of animals in COVID-19 and providing surveillance for other potential zoonoses (diseases transmitted from animals to humans).
Equally essential were the broader industry including veterinary nurses, laboratories, pharmaceutical and equipment suppliers and other allied services whose support ensured that vets can continue to perform their important work, Dr Crawford said.
The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Veterinary Association (WVA) released a joint statement on March 18, advocating for the absolute requirement that vets worldwide be designated as essential service providers in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. Numerous European countries, the US and New Zealand have already recognised and formalised veterinary services as ‘essential’.
“The ability of the veterinary profession, in its many forms, to continue to provide our vital work must be preserved,” Dr Crawford said. “The welfare of our country’s animals should not be abandoned during the pandemic.”
“Vets played an important role in Australia’s economy through food safety and security. Government vets and other approved vets fulfil many critical roles in the livestock supply chain that enable animals to be transported, transacted and processed for protein production in both domestic and export markets. It is essential that these roles can continue to be performed right throughout any COVID-19 shutdown so that food safety and security are both protected,” she said.
Private livestock vets provided vital services that assist in optimising productivity and commodity quality in production animals, Dr Crawford said.
“These services are time-critical and cannot be deferred without potentially serious consequences to the human food chain. Maintaining meat supplies through abattoirs, as well as dairy, eggs and other livestock commodities must be a high priority. Food safety and security must not be compromised.”
“Our domestic and international markets will expect that welfare standards in livestock production will be maintained at all times, vets have a major part to play in ensuring the continuity of food supply and product integrity in the livestock supply chain.”
Veterinarians currently also held a key role in protecting Australia from another global pandemic moving increasingly closer to our borders: African Swine Fever, she said.
“If Australia were to be confronted by concurrent human pandemic and an EAD, the scale of the impact on our economy would be unprecedented. Australia must be able to retain veterinary EAD and endemic disease detection and response capacity before, during and after the COVID-19 outbreak,” Dr Crawford said.
“Australia cannot afford catastrophic animal health or welfare incidents to occur at a time when public health is already critically challenged.”
“The country needs our vet teams,” Dr Crawford said. “Now more than ever.”
Source: AVA
Pets are family and Vets are essential services. Please put them on the list – our animals need to have proper care and attention.
I believe vets have to be considered as essential services. To those of us with pets vets are as important as human doctors are. Vets are animal doctors and without them we couldn’t care for our pets properly. My dog suffers from ear infections every month and the only thing that clears it and stops the pain is an injection. My other dog has a chronic allergy and needs meds. We need our vets. Please put them on the Essential Services List. Thank you.