Animal Welfare Debate: The “Us vs. Them Issue”

Animal Welfare Debate: The “Us vs. Them Issue”

I jokingly said recently that if I had known that breeding or rescuing animals was the fast track to a vet degree, I could have saved myself a lot of time, money and stress studying and writing exams all those years. The other day, when a pet owner told me her breeder had given her some erroneous health advice, I smugly responded that the difference between vets and breeders is that vets have mandatory continued education programs. “Not many people realize that vets must continue to study and stay current,” I told her.

All joking and sarcasm aside, it does become tiresome to continuously have to deal with the constant flow of inaccurate information. Often, the information pet owners repeat is not entirely incorrect but an agglomeration of half-truths, but there are times when the information is completely false, bordering on ridiculous. Breeders, groomers and those involved in rescue groups do, by virtue of being in contact with large numbers of animals, encounter more health related issues than the average person. However, they then tend to generalize. They don’t have the medical training or expertise to differentiate on a case by case basis, not to mention that they are out of line when they give medical advice in the place of a veterinarian.

I, for one, would like to find a solution where we could hit upon a common ground and have a little more mutual respect for one another. There are a great number of true animal lovers in each group. It would be great to work together instead of against one another, without all the back stabbing and bad mouthing that we are presently experiencing. However, we do have to weed out those that do not have the best of intentions and those that do it solely for self-gratification purposes, because they are the biggest enemy to pet health and welfare. These are the culprits handicapping our cause.

Animal hoarding or overcrowding, in any form, is cruel because it compromises the quality of life of our pets under the pretext of caring for them. These guilty parties are the very people that criticize vets when they expect special consideration when they themselves are responsible for the animals’ poor health status. They blame the cost of vet fees for the fact that the animals are sick. They absolve themselves of any culpability of wrong-doing by diverting the blame onto others. I personally don’t see the difference in the living conditions of some of the puppy mills, shelters and rescues. What is the point in removing them from one undesirable living arrangement right into another just as crowded and poorly managed? Basically, what this suggests is that it’s alright to let them suffer some more because someone supposedly loves them.

I also want to touch on the very sensitive subject of money. People love to hate vets because we charge to treat the animals that we are supposed to love. With the goal of trying to defend my profession somewhat, I want to ask the general population if anyone is willing to work for free. Seriously, would any of you go up to your boss and say you didn’t need to get paid for your time? If you did not earn a salary in exchange for your work, how would you pay for your mortgage, bills and your basic necessities?

I have been approached by many people who think that vets should treat the stray and abandoned animals and sterilize them all for free. First of all, it’s a very costly undertaking. We do not get our own supplies and equipment for free and we still need to pay our staff to work as well. It is a large investment to open and operate a veterinary clinic or hospital and it is not subsidized by the government. Here in Canada, most people have absolutely no idea how much our own health care costs the government. Hypothetically, even if we were to treat and sterilize for free, I can say with confidence that we could not sterilize and care for the animals faster than they are reproducing and being abandoned.

In my opinion, one of the main problems is that many people do not understand that it is a long-term commitment to adopt an animal and that they are not disposable goods. The other is that there are way too many people breeding animals irresponsibly. They contribute even greater numbers of animals than do the puppy mills. Imagine if each household were to let their dog or cat have a litter so that their children could experience the joy of birth. It is an unfair expectation to demand that vets clean up the mess of others. No matter how much each individual vet could contribute, we need the cooperation of all ‘pet people’ to be more responsible.

I have maintained for years that unless the laws change we will never get the upper hand on this situation. Without strict regulations, we are powerless to make any significant changes or improvements. In addition, we need to go straight to the source of the problem by educating people and controlling the reproduction rate. If not, I assure you that it is a losing battle.

WE NEED STRICT REGULATIONS TO PROTECT PETS.