The lack of veterinary care for animals in peri-urban and urban areas in the US leads to the demand for more veterinary professionals.
The practice of rearing livestock and backyard poultry has gained popularity among US citizens, even in big cities and peri-urban areas, leading to the need for veterinary care regularly. The people raising poultry and other animals in their home’s backyards are doing it for different reasons.
Some do it to have locally-sourced food, whereas most people raise poultry and other animals for companionship. However, research has found that the owners seldom seek veterinary care for these animals.
A team of researchers from the California State University and the University of California Davis has come together to discover why the lack of engagement between veterinarians and animal owners and how they can prevent the spread of infectious diseases among the animals and the communities.
Some of the main factors behind the low rate of treating backyard poultry and livestock were the lack of facilities, interest, or experience.
Research Findings
The research team from the two universities reached out to almost 900 active veterinarians to assess their engagement with animal owners in their areas and found some reasons behind the lack of veterinary care.
- The study found that the veterinary care workers primarily practiced their professions in companion animal practices. This shows that most of them worked as veterinary doctors in pet stores.
- There is an ongoing increase in backyard poultry and livestock in the peri-urban areas where veterinary professionals work. Still, there is a lack of treatment for these animals.
- An essential factor for not treating backyard poultry and livestock is the need for more facilities. Veterinary care professionals do not have access to the necessary facilities to care for these animals.
- Some veterinarians responded that they had no experience treating livestock and backyard poultry.
- The lack of animal treatment in these areas can spread infectious diseases and spell disaster for other animals.
- Authorities must organize awareness programs for animal owners about the importance of veterinary care for their livestock and backyard poultry to prevent the spreading of deadly diseases.
Need For Veterinary Services In Peri-Urban Areas
The research on veterinary care in peri-urban and urban areas by a team of collaborators from UC Davis and California State University was published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, which hinted at the necessity for veterinary services in those areas.
There was an increase in the practice of rearing livestock and poultry in the backyards of people’s homes. These animals were not given the proper veterinary care due to the lack of facilities or simply ignorance from the owners.
However, the main problem is the need for more veterinary practitioners for poultry and livestock in peri-urban and urban areas. According to Dr. Pires, UC Davis, this is due to the negligence of the veterinary community in the States. Most veterinary practitioners open private clinics and animal shelters after graduating from veterinary schools and colleges.
Dr. Pires believes there is a significant risk of infectious diseases spreading throughout the communities and other animals if the backyard poultry and livestock are not given proper health care. She pressed the need to increase the training levels among veterinary professionals for the health and welfare of these animals.
Dr. Alda Pires is a cooperative extension specialist at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and a co-principal investigator in this study.
Awareness Programs For Animal Owners
It is not only the lack of veterinary care but also the ignorance among the livestock and poultry owners that can lead to the spread of zoonotic diseases among the communities.
Zootonic diseases are infectious and can be transferred from animals to humans through contact, water, food, or the environment. That is why keeping backyard poultry and livestock can harm humans and even other animals in surrounding areas.
Another research team member, Dr. Ragan Adams, weighs in on the importance of awareness among these animal owners. He says the owners need to learn the importance of taking their backyard poultry and livestock for regular veterinary check-ups.
He emphasizes the need to provide veterinary care awareness to the owners and make them realize they should be willing to pay the medical expenses for their animals. Dr. Adams says that most of these owners need to familiarize themselves with the responsibilities and challenges of owning poultry and livestock.
His suggestion is for the local county extension personnel to teach animal husbandry to these new owners. He argues that the county personnel can teach them as they taught youth in 4-H programs through the years. Dr. Adams believes that, with more awareness programs, the new owners will start bringing in their backyard poultry and livestock whenever they show signs of illness.
Is There A Different Approach To Provide Veterinary Care To Backyard Poultry and Livestock?
Rearing backyard poultry and livestock at home is becoming quite the trend in urban areas across the United States of America. Most do this to keep the animals as pets and not for food.
This has become quite challenging for veterinary doctors in the US. They fail to keep a lid on the diseases spread due to the lack of medical attention towards these animals. When the animals fall sick, there is a high chance of zoonotic diseases spreading and infecting the communities and other animals in the surrounding areas.
Experts believe there should be a different approach and skills to this problem compared to taking care of commercial livestock and poultry. Veterinary experts are devising a new model where the owners can take care of the health and welfare of their animals.
They also believe veterinarians should identify the areas that need veterinary services the most and become equipped to handle zoonotic disease detection and husbandry questions while providing medical care to the animals.
If you want to know about veterinary events in the US, you can find several conferences online and in-person with dedicated sites to veterinary care.
