AVMA reacts to Prop 2 passage

Schaumburg, Ill.

-The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is offering its assistance to food-animal producers in California in the wake of the passage of

Getty Images Proposition 2, saying the advice of veterinarians and animal welfare scientists is crucial to protecting animals during implementation of the new animal housing guidelines.

"It was encouraging to see voters in California take such an interest in animal welfare," says Dr. Ron DeHaven, CEO of the AVMA. "Now that the ballot initiative has passed, veterinarians and animal welfare scientists must be involved in its implementation to make sure that resulting changes in animal housing actually improve conditions for the animals they are intended to help. If we're not careful, animal health and welfare problems could be precipitated that are as significant as the concerns Proposition 2 aspires to address."

DeHaven adds the $16 million spent getting Proposition 2 passed could have gone a long way toward improving conditions for livestock across the country if it had been used to help develop science-based and practical solutions to animal welfare problems.Dr. Gail Golab, head of the AVMA's Animal Welfare Division, says more attention needs to be paid to the behavioral well being of production animal, but not at the expense of animal health.

"For example, moving laying hens to free-range production systems may allow them to engage in more species-typical behaviors, but it also increases the hens' risks of illness and injury because it increases their exposure to disease vectors and predators," explains Golab.

AVMA will help California producers by providing information gained from research at home and abroad on alternative production systems, according to Golab.