Vets and exotic pet trade

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Alan Tevendale — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 12:59:04 GMT

Back on topic a little. I do think that there is huge scope for vets to be educating the exotic pet trade as well as dog/cat breeders. I strongly believe however that this shouldn't be left to practices such as Marie's or Mark's to do off their own backs for exotics. This should be a regulated process. I admit I do not know how this could be successfully implemented.

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Alan Tevendale — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 12:49:28 GMT

[quote user="Braden Collins"]

With respect to vaccination certificates, I know this is probably going to reopen an old discussion, but why would the things we sign for horses proving their vaccination status be considered certificates, while those we sign for dogs or cats have a different legal status?

[/quote]

Surely horses being classed as a food animal means that the certificate in that case is more important - at least from a public health point of view. I'm not arguing against traceable vaccinations in dogs and cats being important but there is certainly a difference.

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Braden Collins — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 07:27:15 GMT

I agree. We don't do breeder discounts at our clinic at all. That leaves us in the position of never feeling we have to rush through puppy health checks or vaccinations to make them viable, and we can freely and openly discuss any welfare issues we see with people breeding. It certainly causes a few arguments at times with irresponsible breeders, but all our staff are encouraged to put animal welfare above keeping a client. I even reported one of our clients to the RSPCA when they phoned our clinic to see if we could provide them with a pair of scissors to dock their own puppies tails.

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Clive Ansell — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 17:13:14 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

Sadly there's far more vets encouraging puppy farms, dealers and dodgy pet shops by mass vaccinating and handing out batches of blank certificates than those encouraging irresponsible exotic pet ownership. Perhaps we should get that house in order first!

[/quote]

Couldn't agree more

Given the numbers involved, a far more pertinent and interesting debate would be the animal welfare implications of how elements of the veterinary profession encourage, condone and are complicit in the breeding of hideously deformed pedigree dogs to sell for ridiculous sums of money.

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 16:54:01 GMT

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Francisco Gomez — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 15:44:40 GMT

I think I've written the word 'most' at least 6 times in my post. My English needs improving...

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Francisco Gomez — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 15:41:58 GMT

Hi Arlo and Maria,

Most vets I know are mostly trying to avoid dealing with exotics, rather than benefit from them or their trade (of course I don't know 'all the vets') without proper experience. My take in this is that most dog/cat hospitals are not the most suitable environments to keep exotic patients.

On top of this, me and some of my colleagues are always in the search for someone like Maria, with some experience in the species because most of the time we don't actually know what to do with them. I don't think most practices benefit from seeing exotics, in my view, we try to refer them to someone else so: a) it is not our problem any more and b) the patient is properly treated.

Instead of making vets (yet again) the problem, I would think that shops (most of these with no vet staff) do the job of trying to sell exotic species, convincing the client that their 'african grey' doesn't need much attention, so they can make a quick sale.

I am specially angry at this, I have lost count of the number of moribund parrots that had been presented in my consultation room over the years with a very sad client saying: ' I only bought it last week!'. Just because the shop keeper didn't know or didn't properly inform them about their husbandry needs, particularly in this country.

Fran

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Marie Kubiak — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 14:39:46 GMT

Hmm, can't access the whole thing via other routes either.

Does it say exactly what they consider to be vets promoting trade? I can't understand the suggested role of vets in pet trade - all I can think of is the large pet shop chain with associated in-house vets but I don't think these have a vested interest in livestock sales and in my experience are generally quite negative about keeping of reptiles and other exotic pets. Am I missing something?

The quote "Such vets effectively cause or commission the wild-capture and intensive breeding, cramped storage, transport and sale of hundreds of thousands of fish, amphibians, reptiles and other animals" annoys me. I can't think of any situation where a vet would encourage capturing wild animals for sale, and certainly no situation where they act in this way for personal gain.

Marie

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 12:33:37 GMT

[quote user="Marie Kubiak"]Arlo, do you have access to the whole document?[/quote]

I do, but I've been told it is not open access and I cannot publish it.

I'm sure it is OK for me to answer questions about it.

[quote user="Marie Kubiak"]I would question whether vets really do encourage exotic pet keeping.[/quote]

My reading of the article is that it is not directed at vets in general, but a small number that either, for example, work in practices/businesses that are within shops that sell exotics, or are directly involved in the trade, or promote the ownership of exotics in the national print or broadcast media.

Re: Vets and exotic pet trade

Marie Kubiak — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 11:30:16 GMT

Arlo, do you have access to the whole document?

I would question whether vets really do encourage exotic pet keeping. A large part of my job is putting people off getting inappropriate pets and addressing any welfare concerns there are with existing pets. I maintain that if people did as I suggested from the start then I'd be out of business. What good does it do for me to tell someone they shouldn't have an exotic pet when they already own it and need help?

Shockingly I do fraternise with owners and staff of exotic pet shops too. I find any criticism is taken far better when they are used to me coming in for a cup of tea, a gossip on current exotic issues and they know I'm not there to cause them unnecessary hassle. The good pet shops are not a big concerns to me - they stock >95% captive bred stock, provide suitable equipment and are able to advise on how to look after animals. The bad shops are poorly regulated, with badly trained and disinterested staff and are generally part of a wider shop (large chains covering many species or offshoots of garden centres etc) and here welfare and knowledge can be shocking. This is an area that needs addressing as well as the owner's own actions.

Marie