Vet Files - WSPA's Vets - Animal Mosaic

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Dr Rasto Kolesar In 1992 I was lucky to join the country’s first ever animal protection organisation and watch it begin to grow. Name: Dr Rasto Kolesar Age: 40 Location: London, England Role: WSPA farm animal welfare programme manager (international remit) Education: University of Veterinary Medicine Kosice, Slovakia Practice as a vet: Six months with farm animals in Slovakia; one year in small animal practice in the USA Favourite animal: Pig 8 About RASTO While at vet school, in what was then Czechoslovakia, I became disappointed by the emphasis on economic profit in veterinary education in what was a newly post-communist country. Profit and the protection of human health were always presented as the only criteria in decisions that involved animals. I thought that something was not right there. Later on I found out that in other European countries, scientists discussed ethics and attitudes towards animals and animal welfare. I realised then what was missing at my school. The change in the political system helped open doors to the rest of Europe and information began to pour in. In 1992 I was lucky to join Slovakia’s first ever animal protection organisation and watch it begin to grow. I had always thought that in an ideal world all vets would be true advocates of animal welfare. The subject should be a part of training and should help vets to see animals not as a commodity but as sentient beings. However, whilst studying and practising, I saw many students and professionals giving very little or no consideration to animal suffering. I saw vets who were sympathetic to animals coming under other pressures and making unethical decisions and performing bad practice. So in 1993 I joined EuroNiche (now InterNiche), an organisation aiming to introduce humane education into veterinary and bio-medical schools and replace the use of animals with alternatives. For me one of the most encouraging signs of change was the success of a campaign I worked on to ban the dissection of small animals at high schools, which was a routine practice in science classes. When I look back it was not that difficult to achieve. What was important was that in a country with 5 million inhabitants we collected almost 100,000 signatures. This petition was delivered to the Ministry of Education and many celebrities joined the campaign, commenting on the issue in the media. This was a positive sign that society was becoming more compassionate and animal welfare was becoming an important issue. The Ministry of Education banned the practice in 1994 after a year-long media campaign.
Dr Aim Prasarnphanich Animal welfare ... not only helps animals but also humans and it is our responsibility as vets to help the public understand this. About AIM In Thailand, you can see a huge difference between how owned and stray dogs are treated. Strays are an enormous problem in Bangkok and most people just ignore them. But some get annoyed – it is common to see dogs being beaten – and even compassionate people cannot afford to feed or take care of them properly, so they stay on the streets. Name: Dr Aim Prasarnphanich Age: 26 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Role: WSPA disaster management veterinary intern for Oceania and Asia Education: Chulalongkorn University, Thailand Practice as a vet: Joined WSPA fresh from vet school Favourite animal: I am a dog lover, with five dogs at home It is a different picture for owned dogs. Wealthy owners take very good care of their pets, often pampering them too much! They wear a different ‘outfit’ for each occasion, get ‘beauty treatments’ and live in nice houses. Seeing the difference can really blow your mind. In my fourth year at veterinary school I practised on a dairy farm in northern Thailand. It is a hard fact to accept, but we were taught how to make the most profit out of the least production cost for the farmer. Most dairy farms in Thailand are small-scale and do not have the technology to help reduce costs – they have to make cuts in other areas and this has a huge impact on animal welfare. Cows with mastitis may not get proper treatment, or some are milked more than they should be. Some farms cannot afford enough staff, so cows with signs of disease or lameness are not noticed until their conditions worsen. Those that are critically ill usually end up going to the slaughterhouse. At the time, I was not so familiar with the concept of animal welfare, but I knew something better could be done! Animal welfare reflects a good human standard – ethically and intellectually. It is important that we care for other species as much as we do for our own. It is a way of showing respect. It not only helps animals but also humans and it is our responsibility as vets to help the public understand this. To any aspiring young vets, I would say if you really want to become one, be a good one. A good vet makes a difference, even if it is for one dog or one cow. Make the five or six years of hard work really count, for you and the animals. 9
Page 1 and 2: Vet files WSPA’s vets: leading th
Page 3 and 4: Ambassadors for animal welfare Vete
Page 5 and 6: Dr Wilson Joseph Vets have influenc
Page 7: About SERGIO In my childhood I was
Page 11 and 12: Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach Name: Dr Jan
Page 13 and 14: Animal welfare is incredibly import
Page 15 and 16: Dr Roberto Vieto Our main purpose a
Page 17 and 18: I would encourage those aspiring to
Page 19 and 20: Dr Natasha Lee Name: Dr Natasha Lee
Page 21 and 22: Dr David Wilkins As a vet you have
Page 24: This brochure celebrates the work o

Vet Files - WSPA's Vets - Animal Mosaic

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?