Animal Welfare and Antibiotic Resistance

“We are in the middle seat – let’s get our elbows on both arm rests”

Often we are reminded that we are members of the most respected profession on earth. As it stands at the moment, this may be turning into a myth. Even though we work on farm animals every day and, as a group, we have a practical, sustainable, and stewardly approach to their care, we are becoming “marginalized in the middle”.  We are the conduit between the industry we serve and the people they feed. We also are the first line of defense against zoonoses and bio–terrorism. With all that, we are sometimes placed in bed with an industry with practices we cannot defend. We tend to find that spot less onerous than agreeing with entities such as PETA and HSUS that will not rest until they have euthanized animal agriculture. 10.5 million HSUS members do not hate farmers or vets and many probably eat meat. Some just think they are helping stray, unwanted puppies. However, the cellular machinery of HSUS has been hijacked by the PETA virus and they are placing their burly elbow on our middle seat. Here we sit, as if on a regional jet between two college football players, with no elbows on the arm rests, “all scrunched up” and uncomfortable. We are warned that these slippery slopes cannot be traversed without losing all that we stand for. I contend that it is time to take some exploratory steps. No mountain has been climbed nor valley floor explored with out placing a foot on a slippery slope. We must discuss the two issues of Animal Welfare and Antibiotic Resistance openly and scientifically (without bias – including our own). Where we are as a profession may not be exactly where we want to be. We may want to consider the most recent AABP newsletter welfare message from AVMA’s Dr. Dehaven combined with the leadership message by Dr. Lloyd and act on them. We will get to the new spot by stepping on the slippery slope and taking a new foothold, one we are comfortable with. Spread the elbows a little. Retain credibility; status quo has never been good enough for us in the past, why should it be now?

Step One; Self examination: Each of us should go through self-examination. I am the first to admit that I have made mistakes in the care of animals. Also, I have averted my gaze when things were not right due to expediency or the reluctance to rock the boat. Why? Because, like you and the people that feed our country, I am human and not perfect. My wife wanted me to put that in Bold type. We must vow to always improve ourselves which is far more difficult than belonging to an outside organization and throwing rocks. Take a first step on the slippery slope, get comfortable.
Step Two; Professional position: We must look at practices both within our profession as well as within the industry we serve. We must perform a critical examination of each individually, not as a group of behaviors that have equal status. We must exercise the “line item veto”. For example, should we agree with the FDA’s CVM ruling to outlaw extra-label uses of all cephalosporins? Should we get rid of all antibiotics because a few have been implicated in transference of resistance cassettes between animal and human bacteria? No. But should there be some control over the tons of over the counter antibiotics used by industry? Yes. Take another step and establish a new foothold. Should we tie all veterinarians’ hands and give them no latitude to prescribe and treat farm animals. No. However, should we insist on regulation and punishment of pirates of our profession that prescribe with out a valid VCPR? Should we spend some time with our State VMA’s to help them improve regulations so they are clearer and have some teeth so that we can weed out the offenders? Should we rail against overuse of extra label prescription antibiotics often given due to simplified protocols that we as veterinarians do not agree with? Yes. Take another step – the slope may not feel as slippery. It is how we thought it should be all the time – we just did not want to rock the boat. Should animals be domesticated, well cared for, and humanely slaughtered to meet the exponentially expanding animal protein needs? Yes. Do we agree that slaughter takes the life of an animal? Of course we do. Should we continue to take the firm stand that some forms of animal abuse, discovered routinely in slaughterhouses of late, are outliers, or not real? No. Should we admit that there is a chance that they represent the left side of a curve that needs to be shifted to the right, and help do this? Yes! We cannot defend status quo. Let’s take another step and put our other elbow on the armrest. We are firmly in the middle seat – we just have to assert ourselves.

Step Three; Dialogue: We need to facilitate dialogue, not preach. While it is difficult to combat sound bytes from groups that are intent on destroying an industry at any cost, we are called to do it. Our veterinary oath prescribes it. People expect it of us. While animal rights groups may not concern themselves about the low prevalence of animal abuse, risk ratios of antibiotic resistance development, or how relatively safe our food is, they also are not terrorists (at least most of them). They are fellow Americans, or citizens of the planet. They pay taxes, care about their food, the animals that supply it, and they are our neighbors. We, as a profession have to have open communication between FDA and USDA. For example, AABP officers met with FDA in D.C. one week before the cephalosporin ruling, and it was not mentioned to us. That may not be the best example of real communication. We have to continue to illustrate by our actions that we are sincerely dedicated to improving the industry we serve. As we live in a capitalistic country, it may be likely that this is not a battle between good and evil but simply a fight between two titans and each has a lot of money at stake. As a profession we alone may have the knowledge and credibility to be the leader, the arbiter. Let’s not give this chance away because we stood behind comfortable rhetoric or worse – apathy. Once we are comfortable in our own skin and don’t feel “all scrunched up,” we can put both elbows on the arm rests in the middle seat. We can continue to help an industry feed over 6 billion people in a way we can defend to others who are not familiar with how it is done. Grab the spikes and step out on the slippery slope. Thanks for your time.
                                                                                        -MB