Recommendations for Ensuring Good Welfare of Horses Used for Industrial Blood, Serum, or Urine Production.

Various pharmaceutical products have been derived from horse blood and urine for over a century. Production of biologics and therapeutics from these samples is a niche industry and often occurs in regions with little regulation or veterinary oversight. To ensure good welfare of horses maintained for these purposes, guidance has been developed to support the industry.

Horse Welfare During Equine Chorionic Gonadotropin (eCG) Production.

Collection of blood from pregnant mares for extraction of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) is a critical but relatively unknown and poorly regulated practice in the countries in which it occurs. Equine chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone that is widely used to enhance reproductive performance and management of dairy and beef cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs kept under intensive housing systems. eCG is extracted from the blood of brood mares between days 40-120 of gestation. Although alternatives have been sought, there is currently no efficacious replacement, natural or synthetic, for eCG. Recently, several animal welfare organizations have voiced concerns over the condition and treatment of pregnant mares kept for eCG production in some countries. Animal welfare issues may arise if mares are bled too frequently or if too much blood is collected at any time. In addition, these mares tend to be managed extensively on pastures with minimal veterinary oversight and they may be poorly desensitized and habituated to handling and other practices. This can lead to serious injuries and even death when mares are brought in for bleeding. This paper reviews the process of blood collection for eCG extraction and provides recommendations for ensuring mare welfare.

After the DVM: specialization in animal welfare.

As the public comes to expect higher levels of expertise in various areas of veterinary medicine, organizations have been created to certify that certain individuals have, in fact, achieved that higher level. Animal welfare is an area in which veterinarians have always been looked to for leadership, and it has now escalated to the level of needing an organization to oversee specialization. The American College of Animal Welfare has applied to the American Board of Veterinary Specialties for recognition as a new veterinary specialty organization.

Fractious cats and feline aggression.

Despite variation in terminology it is clear that the context in which feline aggression occurs is important for classification, prevention and treatment. Many of the aggressions discussed can be considered variants of normal feline behavior, so client education is particularly important. Educated clients will know when their cat can benefit from veterinary intervention, and when closing a door may be sufficient. The goals of treating all feline aggressions should be safety for all concerned, and quality of their living environment for the cats. The greater our knowledge, the more likely we are to achieve these goals.

Deer stand-related trauma in West Virginia: 1994 through 1999.

BACKGROUND: Deer hunting is a popular activity in much of the United States. In West Virginia, over 350,000 people each year actively hunt deer. Although injuries and deaths caused by shooting-related incidents have declined, hunting injuries caused by falls from deer stands have not. We present a retrospective study from January 1994 through December 1999 to determine the number of and trauma resulting from deer stand-related incidents in West Virginia. METHODS: Data have been compiled from individual hospital and state trauma registries, patient charts, and Department of Natural Resources logs. RESULTS: A total of 90 individuals have been identified with injuries related to deer stand falls over the 6-year period. There were seven deaths. Most patients had multiple injuries that included extremity fracture (47%), spine fracture (36%), head injury (20%), pelvic fracture (10%), rib/clavicle fracture (11%), solid organ injury (6%), pneumothorax (3%), and other minor injuries (21%). The majority of accidents were associated with home-built as opposed to commercial stands, and most hunters were not using safety straps. Blood alcohol was elevated in only 7% of injured victims. CONCLUSION: Injuries from deer stand falls are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in this state. This is the largest series of hunting-related deer stand injuries reported in the current literature. Other states have successfully implemented prevention programs that have resulted in a reduction of these types of injuries. Our data emphasize the need to establish and promote preventative education programs for hunters using tree stands.