‘Veterinarians must be present and prepared in every phase of the crisis cycle,’ stressed Jane Clark (UK), vice president of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE), during the interactive session on the preparedness and the role of vets. Speaking at the FVE general assembly in Leuven last month, she added: ‘vets bring expertise not only in animal welfare but also in public health, logistics, and community resilience. Whether it’s a barn flood or biosecurity breach, vets are frontline responders.’
AMR: ‘soon more deadly than cancer’
‘The so-called silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is not so silent anymore,’ warned Ivan Vazquez Perez (DG SANTE), presenting the European Commission’s One Health initiatives. ‘At the current rate, it will be more deadly than cancer by 2050.’ AMR was costing Europe an estimated 11.7 billion € a year, he added. He also highlighted the impact of zoonoses and the importance of cross-border preparedness and the cross-agency One Health task force.
‘Zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance prevention have now also been included in the position paper on veterinary pandemic preparedness, adopted at the November GA, reported Ole Alvseike (Norway), head of the FVE working group on veterinary public health and sustainability.
‘Animals are often overlooked in protocols and legislation’
But veterinary preparedness is not limited to epidemics – vets also have a role to play in disasters such as floods, fires and wars. ‘Animals are often overlooked in protocols and disaster legislation,’ observed Ruud Tombrock, Europe’s executive director of the NGO Humane World for Animals. ‘Animals should be integrated in national and EU disaster protocols, and veterinary responders should be trained – and these should include companion animal vets, like in the ‘vets for pets’ initiative after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.’
Disaster preparedness at international level
A survey shared by Tomasz Grudnik, of the World Organisation for Animal Health, showed that there was a lack of authority and training of veterinary services in WOAH member countries to deal with animal welfare emergencies during natural disasters. ‘Workshops on contingency planning that include animal welfare are being held, and simulation exercises are also in the planning,’ he added.
Disaster preparedness at regional level
‘At local level, many vets often feel isolated in their emergency preparedness efforts,’ noted Annie Haavemoen (Norwegian Veterinary Association). A network of private practitioners had been set up, and a simulation exercise was planned with the Nordic-Baltic Veterinary Contingency Group.
On behalf of Hugues Guyot, coordinator of the Belgian emergency rescue & disaster veterinarians, Alain Schonbrodt reported on initiatives in Belgium, where vets were trained to help local authorities in interventions in disasters involving animals.
‘No-one phones the local vet’
‘We have marvellous contingency plans, but no-one has the phone number of the local vat,’ regretted Thierry Chambon, describing the situation in France. ‘While many French vets are volunteer firefighters, we can do so much more as vets…’ The ensuing discussions also touched on the need for regular and specialist training and the lack of involvement of veterinary practitioners.
All presentations mentioned above are available from the FVE through its national member associations.
©Image NG Humane World for Animals