February 5, 2009

Honorable Tom Vilsack
Secretary of Agriculture
U. S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250

Dear Mr. Secretary,

This letter is in response to the unfortunate situation at the Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspections Service's (APHIS) National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) and the Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB) in Ames, IA.

As the organization that represents over 78,000 veterinarians in the United States, the AVMA condemns the alleged actions of a few individuals who appear to have acted outside the ethical standards of the veterinary medical profession. In doing so, these individuals have damaged the image of our profession and the reputation of a truly world class laboratory. We applaud the efforts of APHIS Administrator Cindy Smith to initiate the investigation into the allegations and trust that APHIS will take swift disciplinary action as appropriate based on the findings.

AVMA is concerned, however, that the alleged actions by the few individuals involved will be used to attack and diminish the integrity and reputation of NVSL and CVB -- as well as the professionalism and contributions of the many experts whose hard work and dedication have helped establish the United States as a world leader in animal health. NVSL is a nationally recognized reference laboratory for all state laboratories and the hub of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. It is highly regarded internationally as a reference laboratory for the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The testing done at NVSL is used for surveillance purposes for many livestock and poultry diseases in the U.S. and it produces data necessary to inform our trading partners of the disease status of each major livestock species in the US. This is the same laboratory that has responded in heroic fashion many times in the past when the U.S. has been faced with major livestock and poultry disease outbreaks.

As the USDA moves to take appropriate disciplinary action, the AVMA implores you to strike with "surgical precision" to avoid unintended consequences that could negatively impact morale of a very professional workforce, the reputations of a highly regarded world class laboratory, and a dedicated management team within the Agency.

As the organization that represents the veterinary medical profession in the United States, we are at your disposal to assist in this and any other matter involving the profession.

Sincerely,

James O. Cook, DVM
President