A campaign to create equal access
to veterinary therapeutics globally and the launch of its Global
Guidelines for Companion Animal
Welfare are the WSAVA’s priorities
for 2018. President-Elect Shane
Ryan outlined the plans during a
briefing at BSAVA Congress and
announced that the WSAVA is also
preparing to launch a Professional Wellness Committee and is
developing plans for its next set of
Global Guidelines.
Restricted access to veterinary
medicines in some parts of the
world, often because of financial
or regulatory issues, limits the
efforts of many companion animal
vets to provide optimal care. The
WSAVA is forming a Therapeutics
Guidelines Group to spearhead
efforts to improve access. It has
also created a Position Statement.
Members of the WSAVA’s Animal
Wellness and Welfare Committee are also finalising the new WSAVA
Global Guidelines for Companion
Animal Welfare. They will be
launched at WSAVA World Congress in Singapore. The guidelines
will set out recommendations for
the veterinary team to ensure that,
in addition to providing accurate
health advice and therapy, they
offer evidence-based information
and guidance for the health, welfare and safety of the animal, the
owner and themselves.
The WSAVA is also preparing
to launch a Professional Wellness
Committee, chaired by Nienke
Endenburg, a human psychologist
at the Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine at the University of
Utrecht. The committee aims to
drive the development of new
global tools to support veterinary
wellness, working in collaboration
with human psychiatrists and
psychologists.
