Featured Articles:
If It's in the News, It's at GRD
By Dr. Angela Demaree, Assistant Director of the GRD
As you are aware, a very unfortunate and preventable accident occurred recently in Connecticut. Travis, a 200 pound Chimpanzee, attacked a friend of his owner while she visited their home, as she often did. The AVMA has been working diligently over the last several years to add nonhuman primates to the list of prohibited wildlife species covered by the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, which became part of the Lacey Act in 2003 when it was signed into Law. Adding nonhuman primates to the list of prohibited wildlife species would prohibit the trafficking of nonhuman primates as pets, while not impacting the use or transportation of nonhuman primates in research or zoos.
The current bill, H.R. 80, has an exception for the use of nonhuman primates as assistance animals which directly conflicts with the AVMA policy, Nonhuman Primates as Assistance Animals. Consequently, the AVMA has a position of NONSUPPORT for this legislation as written and is disappointed with the weakened language of the bill this Congress. As our policy states and as we've seen recently in the press, there is the potential for serious injury, and, as veterinarians, we don't want to put any one at risk More »
AVMA to Testify at Hearing on Animal ID
By Dr. Ashley Shelton, Assistant Director of the GRD
On Wednesday March 11, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry will hold a public hearing to review animal identification systems. A coordinated effort between government, industry and the professional sector began in the early 2000s, working towards a system, now called the National Animal Identification System, which would have the ability to trace animals within 48 hours of an animal disease outbreak.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and published in The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA), "investigators spent an average of 199 days tracing the sources of animals infected with bovine tuberculosis between October 2005 and August 2007 and export sanctions connected with a Newcastle disease outbreak in 2002 and 2003 cost nearly $1 million weekly in lost income." The time and money spent on these investigations could have been dramatically reduced if NAIS had been in More »
Senate Holds Hearing on GAO Veterinary Shortage Report
The AVMA appeared before a U.S. Senate subcommittee last week, addressing an alarming new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that details a dangerous shortage of veterinarians available to fill critical positions in the federal government.
Joined on a panel by Dr. Marguerite Pappaioanou, Executive Director of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC), and Dr. Michael Gilsdorf, Executive Vice President of the National Association of Federal Veterinarians (NAFV), Dr. W. Ron DeHaven, CEO of the AVMA, testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Federal Workforce Subcommittee that the federal veterinary shortage described in the GAO report could have profound effects on animal and public health.
The GAO report, "Veterinarian Workforce Actions Are Needed to Ensure Sufficient Capacity for Protecting Public Health," depicts a grave scenario of federal agencies that face a lack of current and future veterinarians to fill critical positions. For example, the report states that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) has an on-the-job vacancy rate of up to 35 percent, and the agency's Agriculture Research Service has a 12 percent shortage of mission-critical veterinarians. According to the report, 27 percent of veterinarians employed by the U.S. Army, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the USDA are eligible to More »
From www.ExternsontheHill.org:
My Final Week as a Veterinary Advocate in Washington
By Derek Calhoon, GRD Extern
"Are you in the Vetch-ri-narian School at Cornell?" asked the complete stranger. He had just tapped on my car window in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and it took a second for my city-boy guard to drop. I mean, do you expect good things when someone knocks on your window as you idle in a parking lot? "Yes," I replied. "I want to thank you for saving my son's dog's life. You guys are just the best." That caught me and kept me idling for several minutes more.
We are a profession unique and unrivaled. I am thanked, lifted up, and looked to on a regular basis because we succeed at two things: communicating and letting animals work their magic. Really, we can only take credit for the first one, but even that's easier because we are consistently and automatically placed in the "good-guy" category.
Washington could be characterized, among other things, More »
Opportunities:
AVMAPAC Thanks Donors, Reports Progress
The AVMAPAC Honor Roll of Donors is now online and is part of the 2008 AVMAPAC Biennial Report – 110th Congress, which highlights the progress made in advancing our legislative agenda. We encourage everyone to view the report and thank your colleagues who helped make 2008 a record breaking fundraising year. During the 2008 election cycle, AVMAPAC raised more than $580,000. Because of your contributions to AVMAPAC, we were able to contribute more than $400,000 to 145 campaigns. Due to the AVMAPAC Policy Board's diligence, those funds were invested in candidates who will work with AVMA to preserve the future viability of the veterinary profession, and 87% of these candidates will be working with us in the 111th Congress. View the 2008 AVMAPAC Biennial Report - 110th Congress now.
Wanted: All-Star Advocates
All-Star Advocates are the AVMA's liaison in Congressional Districts. What does that mean? It means that you are the point person the AVMA and Congress will turn to for advice, advocacy and leadership in your very own community. You will work with other veterinarians in your district to develop strong relationships with your legislators and help the AVMA advance our legislative agenda. Sound daunting? Don't worry, we'll train you and help you every step of the way. For more information, e-mail AVMA-CAN.
Join us on Facebook
Join the hundreds of supporters of the Congressional Advocacy Network (AVMA-CAN) – including hundreds of people not affiliated with the veterinary profession – on the popular social networking site Facebook! AVMA-CAN now has a Facebook page and a Facebook group. Both are used to help grow the network and amplify AVMA's advocacy efforts. Action alerts and information on pending legislation can be found there. Both are open to all Facebook users, so we encourage you, your family and friends to join our group to help advance the profession of veterinary medicine. Find AVMA-CAN's Facebook group here and the page here.
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Are you a member of the AVMA Congressional Advocacy Network (AVMA-CAN)?
To ensure you receive The AVMA Advocate and other vital advocacy information, join AVMA-CAN today. To join our team, send an email to AVMA-CAN. |
| DC Scoop |
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Presidential Pooch Update... People Magazine reports that the search for a dog for the Obama family has narrowed in terms of time, name and breed.
According to People, the future First Dog will join the family sometime in April. Michelle Obama told the magazine that she will probably look for "a rescue Portuguese Water dog who is 'old enough' and a 'match' for the family dynamic." Mrs. Obama said that she likes the breed's temperament, size and reputation for being fun family dogs.
In terms of a name for the pet, Mrs. Obama is not thrilled with the selections her daughters have come up with. "I think Frank was one of them. Frank! Moose was another one of them. Moose. I said, well, what if the dog isn't a moose? Moose. I'm like, no, come on, let's work with the names a little bit."
Mrs. Obama said she is surprised by the amount of attention the dog selection is receiving from the public, but added: "It's all great and gracious attention."
Did you know? That Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is the basis for a character in the Martin Scorsese film Casino? According to Slate, "In Casino, Robert DeNiro's character melts down in front of the Nevada Gaming Commission after the commission denies him a license to operate a casino. The scene is loosely based on a December 1978 hearing when Reid was the commission's chairman, and some of the dialogue spoken by [Dick] Smothers is taken directly from Reid's words during the hearing. (The rest of the scenes involving Smothers, who plays a composite politician known only as "Senator," have nothing to do with Reid.)"
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