AVMA President's Award to Washington's "Rodeo Doc", Doug Corey

by Fran Jurga | 13 July 2009 | The Jurga Report

Dr. Doug Corey at work. (AVMC photo)

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is meeting in Seattle, Washington this week. Most of the news coming from the convention is about PETA's protest over the fish-handling demonstration going on at the Pike Place fish market, but there's plenty of educational and administrative work for the US veterinary profession underway. The wheels are turning!

One aspect of the convention this year that caught my eye was that our old friend Dr. Doug Corey received the AVMA's President's Award this year. That is quite an honor. Dr. Corey is a past president of the AAEP and has been active in trying to at least get some rules on the books for how livestock is treated at rodeos.

Here's an official rundown on Dr. Corey's lifetime achievements, as sent by the AVMA:

"Douglas G. Corey, DVM received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Colorado State University and is currently a partner at Associated Veterinary Medical Center in Walla Walla, Washington. Since entering the profession he has been active in organized veterinary medicine and has devoted much of his attention to horse welfare issues.

"Dr. Corey is a past president and board member of the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association and was honored as the Oregon Veterinarian of the Year in 1997. He has served on the board of directors of the American Association of Equine Practitioners and has chaired their Research, Public Relations, Membership, Equine Welfare and 50th Anniversary Committees. He is an active member of the AVMA and has chaired the Association's Animal Welfare Committee

"Dr. Corey was instrumental in establishing a full-time animal welfare position at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and helped develop minimum care guidelines for rodeo livestock and other welfare rules and guidelines for the PRCA. He has served on the Advisory Council to the PRCA on Animal Welfare for 23 years and has chaired the organization's Veterinary Advisory Committee. He is a member of the American Horse Council's Equine Welfare Committee and serves each year as the National Final Rodeo's on call veterinarian for media relations."

I would also add to those accomplishments that on June 15, the Unwanted Horse Coalition of the American Horse Council announced that Dr. Corey will serve as Vice Chairman of the UHC.

Congratulations to Dr. Corey!

AAEP Vets Inspect Mexican Horse Slaughter Plants, Give Thumbs Up for Horse Welfare Conditions

by Fran Jurga | 19 February 2009 | The Jurga Report at Equisearch.com

A report in the March 1 edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) chronicles the work of a group of representatives of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). The group inspected two Mexican horse slaughter plants and judged the welfare conditions experienced by American horses shipped there to be processed into meat.

The article, which is now available online, documents the process of the horses' arrival from the border in sealed trailers, through the captive bolt slaughter process, and describes the plant, the staff, and how the horses were treated during the inspection.

A key quote from Dr. Tom Lenz: "If you look at it from the hard perspective of the meat industry, they're in the business to produce meat. They don't want an injured or down or stressed horse any more than they have to, because it affects the meat quality."

Click here to read an article about the report.

As stated in the article, both the AVMA and AAEP are working actively in Washington to derail or defeat passage of HR 503, the Conyers-Burton Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on January 14, 2009. HR 503 would prohibit the transport of horses to slaughter. Slaughter itself has been effectively banned within the United States, so horse must be trucked to Canada or Mexico for slaughter. The meat is largely consumed in Japan and Europe.

If it sounds counter-intuitive for the two main veterinary groups in the country to be opposing a bill with the words "prevention of equine cruelty" in it, it is because so many words in our world have twisted meanings when it comes to politics. "Humane", for instance, has become a very subjective word and is highly charged with potential votes and influence when used in the political context.

But for some people, the word "humane" has become another word for "animal rights", and it's all wrapped up in a perception of PETA's plot to take over the world. And, they believe, if PETA succeeds with horse slaughter, cattle and hogs and chickens will be next.

For others, humane means reforming the conditions that horses endure during shipment to slaughter, or not allowing any slaughter at all, under any circumstances.

The US vets did not travel in the trucks with the horses, but did mention that the severely injured horses were humanely euthanized when the trucks were opened in central Mexico, and they were there to witness that.

This battle is far from over.

New Year's Resolution: Update Your Disaster Plan for Pets and Horses (and Yourself); Watch AVMA Video Tips

I hope that Mother Nature's resolution for the new year is to have a quiet, peaceful year without hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, blizzards, ice storms, tidal waves, earthquakes or wildfires but just in case, take a few minutes to watch this helpful new video featuring Dr. Heather Case, Coordinator for Emergency Preparedness with the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Dr. Case reviews common sense steps to take to have your pets and horses ready to evacuate in the event of a disaster. There are sure to be specific aspects for your geographic area or the type of pets you own but the dawn of a new year is a great time to go over your basic plans and inventory your contacts and supplies.

Don't forget your own health, as well as your pets. The first of the year is a great time to take 15 minutes (that's all it takes, honest) to fill out a Google Health Profile. This profile lives online and can contain just simple information like your doctors and family contacts in the event of an emergency, or you can list allergies, or vaccinations, or medications and dosages. If you are away from home and become ill or injured, this data could be of supreme value to hospitals providing your care. This is a no-brainer for trail/endurance riders and eventers, but valid for anyone working around horses.

What will those clever people at Google think of next? My Blue Cross Blue Shield newsletter recently advised me to set up a Google Health Profile, so this system is widely recognized for its value. You can fill in as much or as little information as you wish.

Another new year's task that will start your year on the right hoof is to book your routine health appointments now: your annual physical, your dental xrays and cleaning, eye exam, your mammogram and gyn exam (if you're a woman), and (especially) those Big Tests like bone density and colonoscopy, if you are due to need one. Don't put off your routine health until the middle of riding and travel seasons, get those appointments onto your calendar now! You'll also be able to book your best time of the day if you have a few months to spare.

Check on your tetanus booster status; anyone working outdoors or around animals needs to stay up to date on that one! I think a skin cancer screening is a good investment, too.

And, while you're at it, go shovel out that horse trailer, if you live in a snowy zone, and make sure that you can open all the ramps and doors. No, you can't run away from an ice storm or blizzard, but if you have a sick or injured horse that needs to get to the hospital this winter, your trailer must be ready to roll! (Check the tire pressure, too!)

Taking care of things sooner instead of later will give you more time to enjoy with your animals, and who doesn't want that? Your animals need to have their plans in order, and if something goes wrong, they need you to be healthy and able to care for them!

AVMA Sets Policy Against Double-Decker Trailers for Horses

One of the most disturbing aspects of horses hauled to slaughter (or anywhere) is the idea of cramming dozens of them into double-decker "trailers". Last summer's wreck of a tractor trailer hauling more than 60 draft horses bought at an auction is still fresh in many memories. That's right: 60 big horses in one trailer.

Many slaughter opponents have felt that an easier route to end slaughter would simply be to have a national law governing horse transport conditions. And give that law the funding needed to enforce it. Currently, some states have laws against double-decker trailers for horses, but in many states, haulers simply use secondary roads and avoid interstate highway weigh stations.

As you all know, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), is against banning slaughter, and that has been a serious issue for many in the animal world, including member veterinarians.

Last week, the AVMA reinforced its opposition to the use of double-deck trailers to transport horses and other equines by approving a new policy on the Humane Transport of Equines.

The policy, proposed by the AVMA Animal Welfare Committee and approved by the Executive Board on April 12, 2008, states that due to animal welfare and safety concerns, the AVMA opposes the use of double-deck trailers to transport equines. The AVMA previously has supported U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations prohibiting the use of such trailers for transport of horses and other equines to slaughter, and submitted written comments to the USDA on this issue earlier this year.

However, here's the good news: the new AVMA policy is more far reaching, extending opposition to the transport of equines for other purposes.

"Creating this policy simply formalizes recommendations made by the AVMA during the past 10 to 15 years as the Association has engaged in discussions and responded to regulatory proposals regarding transport of horses and other equines," explained Dr. Gail Golab, director of the AVMA Animal Welfare Division. "The scope was broadened because the AVMA believes that humane methods of transport should apply regardless of the destination of the animals."

Earlier this year, the AVMA submitted written comments to the USDA in support of an amendment to existing regulations that would extend protections afforded to equines bound for slaughter to those delivered first to an assembly point, feedlot, or stockyard. In its response, the AVMA cited data within the scientific literature suggesting that equines suffer 3.5 times more lacerations and abrasions in double-deck trailers compared to straight-deck trailers.

The new Humane Transport of Equines policy also provides some guidelines on assessing the appropriateness of trailers for equine transport. Pertinent considerations include: affording sufficient headroom so that horses and other equines can stand with their heads extended to their fullest normal postural height, providing appropriate ventilation, ensuring there are no protrusions in the trailer that might cause injury, confirming that doors and ramps are of sufficient size to allow safe loading and unloading, ensuring that horses and other equines have appropriate footing and enough space to redistribute their weight as needed should the trailer shift during transport, and allowing for the segregation of stallions and other aggressive equines.

The complete policy may be accessed at www.avma.org/issues/policy/animal_welfare/equine_transport.asp.

AVMA Video Profiles Equine Veterinarian from Puerto Rico

Anyone aspiring to become a horse-specialist veterinarian will gain some inspiration from this short video profiling Dr. Jose Ramos, who grew up wanting to be a vet, but was challenged not only by the hurdles of a long, expensive educational process...he had to learn how to speak English to make his dream come true! This veterinary video minute is produced by the American Veterinary Medical Association.