Do "social hearted vets" actively oppose ventilation shutdown as a method for depopulating livestock farms? Or is all that heartfelt concern reserved for pets and "their people"?
Thank you for the question. Our perspective and insights at SHV are certainly around companion animals and their humans, however I can say for sure that we would oppose ventilation shutdown as a method of depopulating livestock farms. This sounds barbaric and horrific.
It is both. But tens of millions of chickens, turkeys and ducks have been killed by precisely this method during the last year in the campaign to control the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Similarly, hundreds of thousands of pigs were killed by the identical process due to production slow-downs during the Covid pandemic. And the American Veterinary Medical Association officially approves of the practice. Everyone in the profession knows, or should know, about this by now yet the response from the veterinary community has been disgracefully muted. Concern for the welfare of companion animals is laudable but throwing farm animals, or lab animals, under the proverbial bus is not. Every veterinarian with a beating heart, social or otherwise, should be actively protesting this outrage lest they be accused of the rankest hypocrisy.
I am so sorry! I thought you were in the States. Of course you would not be familiar with ventilation shutdown since Australia hasn't yet sunk to such depths of depravity as to employ it. I'm sorry for any snark in the messages, it's just because of the difficulty I've encountered in getting many of my American colleagues to openly condemn the practice. I've known many Australian vets during my career and they've all been top of the line vets and really good people. Best wishes, George
Do "social hearted vets" actively oppose ventilation shutdown as a method for depopulating livestock farms? Or is all that heartfelt concern reserved for pets and "their people"?
Thank you for the question. Our perspective and insights at SHV are certainly around companion animals and their humans, however I can say for sure that we would oppose ventilation shutdown as a method of depopulating livestock farms. This sounds barbaric and horrific.
It is both. But tens of millions of chickens, turkeys and ducks have been killed by precisely this method during the last year in the campaign to control the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. Similarly, hundreds of thousands of pigs were killed by the identical process due to production slow-downs during the Covid pandemic. And the American Veterinary Medical Association officially approves of the practice. Everyone in the profession knows, or should know, about this by now yet the response from the veterinary community has been disgracefully muted. Concern for the welfare of companion animals is laudable but throwing farm animals, or lab animals, under the proverbial bus is not. Every veterinarian with a beating heart, social or otherwise, should be actively protesting this outrage lest they be accused of the rankest hypocrisy.
Agree fully with what you are saying. We are based in Australia so I have not been aware of this issue in the USA.
I am so sorry! I thought you were in the States. Of course you would not be familiar with ventilation shutdown since Australia hasn't yet sunk to such depths of depravity as to employ it. I'm sorry for any snark in the messages, it's just because of the difficulty I've encountered in getting many of my American colleagues to openly condemn the practice. I've known many Australian vets during my career and they've all been top of the line vets and really good people. Best wishes, George