Veterinary Policy Research Articles

Motivation of Veterinary Public Health Faculties Across Veterinary Schools of the British Isles.

Veterinary public health (VPH) is a critical role of veterinarians regardless of their chosen career pathway and it is the role of VPH academics to inspire veterinary students within this essential topic. However, the alarming shortage of veterinarians has led to a significant reduction in veterinary policy makers and epidemiologists. The engagement of new graduates in public health roles is heavily influenced by their undergraduate teaching and extramural study opportunities. Worryingly, student engagement within VPH has been well documented to be poor in comparison to other subjects. As such, this study was designed to investigate what factors impacted VPH educators' motivation. To do this, a mixed methods survey was created and released electronically to 34 VPH academics across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. A total of 23 respondents, from nine veterinary schools spanning both countries, completed the survey. Data analysis involving both quantitative assessment and thematic analysis was undertaken. The results showed that VPH educators' intrinsic motivation was not problematic and most (n = 20) respondents felt motivated within their roles. However, all respondents had extrinsic issues that impacted their motivation, such as external stakeholders, curricula requirements, lack of student opportunity both regarding placement and as career options, as well as wider university issues. These themes led staff to feel undervalued in their roles, and as such highlight the areas that universities and external stakeholders need to act on to help fill the significant recruitment issues in this essential field. This study is, as far as the authors are aware, the first time globally that a VPH faculty have been asked to explore their motivation behind their teaching practices.

INNOVATIVE TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE NATIONAL LEGAL SYSTEM OF UKRAINE AS A CONDITION FOR PARTICIPATION IN EUROPEAN POLICIES

Introduction. The article highlights the essence of the main innovative transformations taking place in the legal system of Ukraine in the context of intensification of the European integration processes from the standpoint of general theoretical analysis. The author focuses on the interrelation between changes in the national legal system of Ukraine and the State's involvement in European policies. Summary of the main results of the study. It is found that deepening of Ukraine's participation in European policies depends on several basic organizational and legal factors: formation of a unique regulatory framework for the implementation of EU legal standards into the system of national legislation of Ukraine, institutional reforms in the system of public authorities, improvement of the contractual framework for the development and deepening of political relations between Ukraine and the united Europe. The author reveals the main clusters of EU law provisions which are currently most implemented in the legal system of Ukraine (customs, food security, veterinary and phytosanitary policy, consumer protection and healthcare, statistics, foreign relations, transport policy, freedom of entrepreneurship and provision of services, financial services, freedom of movement of goods). It is proved that formal and legal support for the "transfer" of many areas of public administration and life in Ukraine to EU standards contributes to the formation of new social practices of their implementation similar to the European ones (functioning of public services, law enforcement and public safety, education and science, health care, etc.) Conclusion. The author substantiates the conclusion that innovative changes in the national legal system of Ukraine determine the degree and depth of our country's participation in European policies. The gradual deepening of involvement of employees of the system of public authorities and local self-government, as well as citizens involved in other spheres of society in the main areas of the EU's functioning, creates a real basis for accelerating Ukraine's accession to the EU. Accordingly, a promising task of legal science is to substantiate the most effective ways of further implementation of legal standards for the regulation of public relations, which are recognised as model ones at the EU level.

From pets to parliament: why we chose to shape veterinary policy of the future.

Entering the political arena isn't for everyone, but here the second - and currently only - vet to sit in the House of Lords, Lord Trees, and his parliamentary intern, discuss why contributing to parliamentary business is an exciting and stimulating end and start to their respective careers.

The process of implementation of the EU acquis in the national legislation of Ukraine

The article summarizes the process of implementing the EU acquis into the national legislation of Ukraine, as well as the obligations undertaken within the framework of the Association Agreement. Thus, as part of the negotiation process, Ukraine's commitments are grouped into six clusters, which in turn contain 34 chapters. It was found that 80 state authorities assessed the approximation of Ukrainian legislation to EU legislation (self-screening) within six months. According to the results of the inspection, several EU acts do not require implementation into Ukrainian legislation, some acts are subject to further full or partial incorporation, and some of the acts have already been fully implemented into Ukrainian legislation. It was also analysed that the largest number of EU acquis acts, which Ukraine has already fully incorporated into its legislation, relate to the sections «Customs Union», «Statistics», «External Relations», «Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy» and «Protection of Consumer Rights and Health Care». However, under such sections as «Transport Policy», «Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Policy», «Freedom of Movement of Goods», «Freedom of Entrepreneurship and Provision of Services» there is still work to be done in terms of the implementation of EU norms in the internal legislation of Ukraine. In addition, the article also defines the state of implementation of the EU acquis in Ukraine. In addition, the activities of government bodies during 2023 in the process of implementing EU legislation were also analysed. It was found that Ukraine also fulfilled all seven recommendations of the European Commission, which it received during the granting of candidate status. It was also determined that Ukraine, on its way to European integration, continues to fulfill its obligations under the Association Agreement. During the period from 2015 to 2022, Ukraine fulfilled 72% of its obligations.

"Arming half-baked people with weapons!" Information enclaving among professionals and the need for a care-centred model for antibiotic use information in Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi.

The overuse of antimicrobial medicines is a global health concern, including as a major driver of antimicrobial resistance. In many low- and middle-income countries, a substantial proportion of antibiotics are purchased over-the-counter without a prescription. But while antibiotics are widely available, information on when and how to use them is not. We aimed to understand the acceptability among experts and professionals of sharing information on antibiotic use with end users - patients, carers and farmers - in Uganda, Tanzania and Malawi. Building on extended periods of fieldwork amongst end-users and antibiotic providers in the three countries, we conducted two workshops in each, with a total of 44 medical and veterinary professionals, policy makers and drug regulators, in December 2021. We carried out extensive documentary and literature reviews to characterise antibiotic information systems in each setting. Participants reported that the general public had been provided information on medicine use in all three countries by national drug authorities, health care providers and in package inserts. Participants expressed concern over the danger of sharing detailed information on antibiotic use, particularly that end-users are not equipped to determine appropriate use of medicines. Sharing of general instructions to encourage professionally-prescribed practices was preferred. Without good access to prescribers, the tension between enclaving and sharing of knowledge presents an equity issue. Transitioning to a client care-centred model that begins with the needs of the patient, carer or farmer will require sharing unbiased antibiotic information at the point of care.

Diary of a parliamentary intern: debate around welfare of fish at slaughter.

Vet and parliamentary intern Harriet Davenport reports on the Veterinary Policy Research Foundation's work to drive awareness of the need to stun farmed fish before slaughter.

Wet market biosecurity reform: Three social narratives influence stakeholder responses in Vietnam, Kenya, and the Philippines.

In 2020, Covid-19 led to global policy statements promoting bans and reforms to wet markets in Asia and Africa to prevent future pandemics. We conducted a comparative, exploratory qualitative study in 2021 in three countries (Kenya, Vietnam and the Philippines) to understand the social and political dimensions to biosecurity reform at wet markets. This included 60 key informant interviews and rapid ethnographic research in 15 markets, as well as a review of policy documents and online media articles. We found no evidence that the rhetoric of pandemic spillover that emerged in 2020 had any influence on policy or reform efforts apart from those related to Covid-19 infection control. Rather, we identified three main narratives that frame the problem of biosecurity and preferences for reform. The first, a human health narrative, questioned global framings about pandemic risk, viewed markets as sources for food security rather than disease, emphasized the need to strengthen the control of endemic diseases, and conceptualized health through the lens of 'freshness' rather than biomedical categories. A second modernization narrative approached biosecurity as part of a broader process of socio-economic development that emphasized infrastructural gaps, spatial arrangements, cleanliness and a conflict between reform and economic interests. A third narrative centered on local livelihoods and the tension between local market stakeholders and biosecurity and modernization efforts. This final narrative called into question the appropriateness of certain regulations and policies, including bans and closures, emphasized the importance of preserving cultural heritage and highlighted the need for collective political action to resist certain veterinary policies. In conclusion, wet market biosecurity strategies occur in the context of three contrasting narratives that emphasize different aspects of health and risk, and reflect different worldviews and interests. Within this context, there is a need for local government to strengthen market management and biosecurity in ways that enhance the agency of market stakeholders and strengthen local livelihoods and food security as part of a pluralistic and democratic politics.

Relationship between animal health and livestock farmers’ wellbeing in Ghana: beyond zoonoses

IntroductionLivestock production is a key livelihood source for many people in developing countries. Poor control of livestock diseases hamper livestock productivity, threatening farmers’ wellbeing and food security. This study estimates the effect of livestock mortalities attributable to disease on the wellbeing of livestock farmers.MethodsOverall, 350 ruminant livestock farmers were randomly selected from three districts located in the north, middle and southern belts of Ghana. Mixed-effect linear regression models were used to estimate the relationship between animal health and farmer wellbeing. Farmer wellbeing was assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF tool, as the mean quality-of-life in four domains (physical, psychological, social, and environmental). Animal health was assessed as annual livestock mortalities to diseases adjusted for herd size, and standardized in tropical livestock units to account for different ruminant livestock species. We adjusted for the potential confounding effect of farmers’ age, sex, educational attainment, farmland size, socio-economic status, perception of disease risk to herd, satisfaction with health, previous experience of disease outbreaks in herds, and social support availability by including these as fixed effects, and community as random effects, in a pre-specified model.ResultsOur results showed that farmers had a median score of 65.5 out of 100 (IQR: 56.6 to 73.2) on the wellbeing scale. The farmers’ reported on average (median) 10% (IQR: 0 to 23) annual herd mortalities to diseases. There was a significantly negative relationship between increasing level of animal disease-induced mortality in herds and farmers’ wellbeing. Specifically, our model predicted an expected difference in farmers’ wellbeing score of 7.9 (95%CI 1.50 to 14.39) between a farmer without any herd mortalities to diseases compared to a (hypothetical) farmer with 100% of herd mortalities caused by diseases in a farming year. Thus, there is a reduction of approximately 0.8 wellbeing points of farmers, for the average of 10% disease-induced herd mortalities experienced.ConclusionsDisease-induced livestock mortalities have a significant negative effect on farmers’ wellbeing, particularly in the physical and psychological domains. This suggests that veterinary service policies addressing disease risks in livestock, could contribute to improving the wellbeing of livestock dependent populations, and public food security.

Re-emergence of canine influenza in the United States of America; a call for One Health approach; a letter to the editor

Re-emergence of canine influenza in the United States of America; a call for One Health approach; a letter to the editor

Veterinary policy

Abstract Evidence-based medicine can be used by clinicians in small animal practice to support decision-making for their patients by exploring available scientific evidence and interpreting it in the context of that specific patient and their needs. In the same vein, at the Veterinary Policy Research Foundation (VPRF) we aim to ensure our contributions lead to evidence-based policy. Harriet Davenport, Parliamentary Veterinary Intern to Professor the Lord Trees, explains…

The gender wage gap in the French veterinary labor market.

Among the most important recent changes in the veterinary profession is the increasing percentage of women. Understanding trends driving the veterinary labor market is important to enable leaders in the veterinary profession and policy makers to plot strategic actions that will improve the profession. The objective of this paper was to estimate the gender pay gap in the veterinary labor market. We analyzed data from an anonymous online survey conducted in France in 2021 by the veterinary practitioner union. We assessed the gender gap pay using two regression approaches, ordinary least squares method and Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, while controlling for all other variables (ceteris paribus). We provided evidence that male veterinarians earned wages approximately 9.3% higher (controlling for all other variables). This difference represented the "unexplained variance" that may be due to gender discrimination or unobserved characteristics.

Modelling livestock infectious disease control policy under differing social perspectives on vaccination behaviour.

The spread of infection amongst livestock depends not only on the traits of the pathogen and the livestock themselves, but also on the veterinary health behaviours of farmers and how this impacts their implementation of disease control measures. Controls that are costly may make it beneficial for individuals to rely on the protection offered by others, though that may be sub-optimal for the population. Failing to account for socio-behavioural properties may produce a substantial layer of bias in infectious disease models. We investigated the role of heterogeneity in vaccine response across a population of farmers on epidemic outbreaks amongst livestock, caused by pathogens with differential speed of spread over spatial landscapes of farms for two counties in England (Cumbria and Devon). Under different compositions of three vaccine behaviour groups (precautionary, reactionary, non-vaccination), we evaluated from population- and individual-level perspectives the optimum threshold distance to premises with notified infection that would trigger responsive vaccination by the reactionary vaccination group. We demonstrate a divergence between population and individual perspectives in the optimal scale of reactive voluntary vaccination response. In general, minimising the population-level perspective cost requires a broader reactive uptake of the intervention, whilst optimising the outcome for the average individual increased the likelihood of larger scale disease outbreaks. When the relative cost of vaccination was low and the majority of premises had undergone precautionary vaccination, then adopting a perspective that optimised the outcome for an individual gave a broader spatial extent of reactive response compared to a perspective wanting to optimise outcomes for everyone in the population. Under our assumed epidemiological context, the findings identify livestock disease intervention receptiveness and cost combinations where one would expect strong disagreement between the intervention stringency that is best from the perspective of a stakeholder responsible for supporting the livestock industry compared to a sole livestock owner. Were such discord anticipated and achieving a consensus view across perspectives desired, the findings may also inform those managing veterinary health policy the requisite reduction in intervention cost and/or the required extent of nurturing beneficial community attitudes towards interventions.

Supporting the relationship between people, animals and the environment

As Lord Trees' fifth intern, Harriet Davenport works in veterinary policy and parliamentary process - a varied role that involves animal welfare and the veterinary professions' contribution to society.

‘Experts’, Settlers and Africans: The Production of Local Agricultural and Veterinary Knowledge in Southern Rhodesia (1897–1914)

ABSTRACT Historiography dealing with the development of colonial science in Africa and the production of ‘local knowledge’ has gradually become more complex and nuanced. Interactions as well as conflicts between local and imperial knowledge are highlighted, together with the partial incorporation of African knowledge into scientists’ ideas, and the contradictions within scientific institutions. The aim of this paper is to analyse how agricultural and veterinary scientific discourses and policies were constructed in Southern Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe) before the First World War, which ideas and practices became accepted as scientifically sound, and who was expected to master this expertise. Evidence shows how the links and collaboration between international, imperial, and Rhodesian institutions and individuals were far from unproblematic; how the relationship between scientists and the growing number of European farmers was often conflictive; and how scientists’ views of African knowledge and practices were ambiguous and contradictory. In line with other British colonies, Rhodesian agricultural and veterinary science and policies went through a process of gradual ‘localisation’ in this period. Rhodesia, however, presented some peculiarities: due to its short history and small European population, it was more a ‘Southern African’ localisation rather than Rhodesian. Collaboration and knowledge exchange between white settlers and officials were very limited. And, even if officials’ views and interventions were not uniformly negative and oppressive towards Africans, the incorporation of African practices and knowledge into colonial science were still far away.

UNCITRAL Model Law Development of Arbitration Framework for EPC Disclosure of Travaux Preparatoires using Political Expediency of Tax Planning

Corporate Governance is a conceptual framework of business designs intended to illustrate the various activities of a company towards fulfilling its profit goals as private stakeholder and contributing to public interests for social obligation of sustainable development. Disclosure of corporate social responsibility is the central mechanism of corporate governance. Based on stakeholder theory, corporate governance strongly influences corporate social responsibility disclosure to enhance the relationship of stakeholders and its business community. Tax aggressiveness is utilized by board director and its members to lessen tax contribution which is contrary to the government sector goals of maximizing tax impositions for public welfare and safety. Unlawful behavior on tax aggressiveness is known as tax evasion while tax avoidance is not a violation and serves as a loophole to the taxation system. UNCITRAL model law is a legal arbitration concept of making “commercial” expand to other comparable jurisdiction of international trade. The European Patent Commission is the legal authority that delineates medical policies from patented products. Travaux preparatoires is a design practice within legal context of restricted jurisdiction for commercial exercise of strict liability. This paper aims to develop arbitration framework based on stakeholder theory of corporate governance to explain the correlation of tax planning with patented products and medical processes involving therapeutic, surgical, and veterinary policies. Therefore, tax evasion is not apparent criminal behavior and tax planning on medical policies and patented drugs must have a separate strategic means of increasing monetary success for tax avoidance to be clearly managed by the company.

"State of the Mewnion": Practices of Feral Cat Care and Advocacy Organizations in the United States.

Over the last several decades, feral cats have moved from the fringes to the mainstream in animal welfare and sheltering. Although many best practice guidelines have been published by national non-profits and veterinary bodies, little is known about how groups “in the trenches” actually operate. Our study sought to address that gap through an online survey of feral cat care and advocacy organizations based in the United States. Advertised as “The State of the Mewnion,” its topics included a range of issues spanning non-profit administration, public health, caretaking and trapping, adoptions of friendly kittens and cats, veterinary medical procedures and policies, data collection and program efficacy metrics, research engagement and interest, and relationships with wildlife advocates and animal control agencies. Respondents from 567 organizations participated, making this the largest and most comprehensive study on this topic to date. Respondents came primarily from grassroots organizations. A majority reported no paid employees (74.6%), served 499 or fewer feral cats per year (75.0%), engaged between 1 and 9 active volunteers (54.9%), and did not operate a brick and mortar facility (63.7%). Some of our findings demonstrate a shared community of practice, including the common use of a minimum weight of 2.0 pounds for spay/neuter eligibility, left side ear tip removals to indicate sterilization, recovery holding times after surgery commonly reported as 1 night for male cats and 1 or 2 nights for females, requiring or recommending to adopters of socialized kittens/cats that they be kept indoor-only, and less than a quarter still engaging in routine testing of cats for FIV and FeLV. Our survey also reveals areas for improvement, such as most organizations lacking a declared goal with a measurable value and a time frame, only sometimes scanning cats for microchips, and about a third not using a standardized injection site for vaccines. This study paints the clearest picture yet available of what constitutes the standard practices of organizations serving feral and community cats in the United States.

Prevalence and antimicrobial profile of potentially pathogenic bacteria isolated from abattoir effluents in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

The spread of pathogenic bacteria from food production processes has become a problem worldwide. Abattoir effluents are potential carriers of resistant pathogenic bacteria and could be contributing to the global spread of these strains in the environments. We investigated the prevalence and antimicrobial profiles of bacteria isolated from government (Abattoir 1) and private owned (Abattoir 2) abattoir effluents. A total of 300 effluent samples were collected from each abattoir. Total bacterial counts and antibiotic sensitivity profiles were determined. The total bacterial counts in effluents were high for both abattoirs, ranging from 7.83 to 5.81 log CFU/mL. Significant differences were observed (p < 0.05) between bacterial counts of abattoir 1 and 2 at all sampling sites A, B and C. However, bacterial counts for Abattoir 1 were significantly higher than those for Abattoir 2 at sampling sites A and B and on the contrary total bacterial counts for Abattoir 1 were significantly lower at sampling site C. Sampling site A had the most bacteria (average: 7.55 log CFU/mL) while site C had the least bacteria (average: 6.32 log CFU/mL), suggesting that the processing could lower the discharged effluent's bacterial counts. Fifteen different potentially pathogenic bacteria were isolated from the effluent. Escherichia coli, Bacillus spp, Streptococcus pyogenes, Citrobacter freundii, Citrobacter spp, Klebsiella aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Salmonella spp, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus coagulase negative, S. enteritidis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus intermedius. E. coli (23.33%) and Bacillus species (21.85%) were the most prevalent and Staphylococcus intermedius (1.30%) the least prevalent. Most bacterial isolates (58.71%) were highly resistant to antibiotics tested and this could be very dangerous if the effluent is released into the environment without treatment. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate current environmental, veterinary, and public health policies to monitor and produce safe effluents.

Diary of a parliamentary intern

The Veterinary Policy Research Foundation employs a veterinary intern to assist Lord Trees in advancing veterinary thinking in parliament. Here, the current intern Catrina Prince shares an update.

Supply Chain and Delivery of Antimicrobial Drugs in Smallholder Livestock Production Systems in Uganda

This study assessed the veterinary drug supply chain in Uganda, the constraints faced by the actors, and how the challenges influence the use of antimicrobial (AMs) by livestock farmers. We carried out stakeholder consultation workshops, key informant interviews and a knowledge, practices, and awareness survey with actors of the veterinary drug supply chain. We also profiled drugs stored in 23 urban and peri-urban drug shops in Lira and Mukono districts to record the commonly sold drugs. The veterinary drug supply chain is made of several actors including wholesalers, retailers, Animal Health Service Providers (AHSP) and farmers. Nearly ninety per cent of drug retailers and veterinary practitioners did not receive specialized training in veterinary medicine, and most of veterinary practitioners have been in the drug business market for more than 10 years. Antibiotics and anti-helminthics were the most stocked drugs by retailers, with antibiotics ranking highest in terms of contribution to annual financial profits, accounting for 33%. The choice of a drug by veterinary practitioners was mainly informed by past success with efficacy of the drug, and financial capacity of the client (the farmer) to meet the treatment cost. Many veterinary practitioners were not conversant with veterinary drug policies of the country, with Mukono having a higher number (72%) compared to Lira (37%). Veterinary practitioners from Lira district compared to Mukono and those mainly serving small scale farmers relative to large scale smallholders were more knowledgeable about antibiotics and AMR. Several supply chain constraints were identified as potential drivers of misuse of antibiotics that could contribute to AMR. These included low level of education of supply chain actors, particularly drug retailers, poor handling of drugs at purchase and administration practices, low enforcement of policies and regulations, and lack of awareness of stakeholders about policies that regulate drug use. Thus, future interventions to reduce misuse of AM drugs in livestock production systems in Uganda such as capacity building, should also target veterinary input suppliers, and deliberately involve a strong policy advocacy component.

Diary of a parliamentary intern

The Veterinary Policy Research Foundation employs a veterinary intern to assist Lord Trees in advancing veterinary thinking in parliament. Here, the current intern Catrina Prince shares an update.