AVMA Denies Petition of 278 Veterinarians to Reclassify Mass Killing of Animals Via Heatstroke as “not recommended”
A hen who was one of the survivors of an avian influenza depopulation event at Rembrandt Farms in Iowa where 5.3 million birds were killed. This facility is owned by billionaire Glen Taylor who received $11.3 million in taxpayer subsidies for killing 5.5 million birds during the 2015 avian influenza outbreak. This is a screenshot from a video of an investigation cited in this Vox article published May 5, 2022.
In an unsurprising move, the AVMA denied the petition of 278 AVMA veterinarians asking the AVMA to reclassify the mass killing of animals via heatstroke as "not recommended." The response given explains how the AVMA has a process for addressing depopulation issues and that is via the Panel on Depopulation—therefore the AVMA will not allow the issue to be addressed via the member-driven petition/resolution mechanism. The response given by the Director of Governance Administration at the Office of the Executive Vice President was surprising in that they usually work with members to help them draft resolutions that work with their policy.
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AVMA members are able to address the AVMA Panel on Depopulation by emailing humaneendings@AVMA.org
The AVMA is also seeking comment about its Guidelines on Humane Slaughter. If you are an AVMA member and would like to be a part of a committee to discuss the Guidelines on Humane Slaughter and draft comments to the AVMA about these Guidelines, or would just like to be kept in the loop about these issues, please fill out this form here.
Disturbingly, on November 22, 2022, AVMA News published an article biased against Proposition 12 and failed to mention the amicus brief supporting prop 12 signed by nearly 400 veterinarians as well as the brief submitted by Dr. Jim Keen, and the brief signed by AVMA member veterinarians working in public health.
Because of ties to the meat industry, PETA is calling for the ousting of the AVMA’s Director of the Animal Welfare Division and calling on the AVMA to put in her place someone without those conflicts of interest.
The Guardian recently reported her comment at a recent conference calling for data to support methods being left in the Guidelines saying, “We need data from you … some of these methods are at risk of leaving the guidelines, I think you probably have an idea of what those methods might be. We need data to support them staying in the document.”
There is a concern by many veterinarians that this pattern by the AVMA violates the AVMA’s own Principles of Veterinary Ethics which state “A veterinarian shall be influenced only by the welfare of the patient, the needs of the client, the safety of the public, and the need to uphold the public trust vested in the veterinary profession, and shall avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof.”
Many veterinarians concerned for the AVMA’s morally questionable positions have chosen to leave the AVMA and join the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA). Unfortunately, the AVMA does have a lot of power in influencing the treatment of animals in the United States. As we have seen, the USDA looks to the AVMA Panel on Depopulation to set policy and indemnity payments which are tax payer bailouts of producers who depopulate due to emergencies and infectious disease outbreaks.
The mass exodus of these compassionate veterinarians from the AVMA has created a toxic environment that allows industry unjust influence over policy. They are able to wield our profession’s moral authority to justify barbaric treatment of animals—kill animals en masse and proclaim to the concerned public and media that they are using “veterinary approved” methods.
If we had just a few hundred compassionate voices within the AVMA we could advocate for better policies—inspire the AVMA to support bans on gestation crates, declawing, ear cropping, and foie gras production and ensure all veterinary schools stop the use of terminal laboratories in training.
The AVMA should support Cory Booker’s Farm System Reform Act as well as the Industrial Animal Agriculture Accountability Act which hopes to put an end to the most cruel mass killing methods and put the financial responsibility back on corporations. All this can be accomplished if compassionate veterinarians re-join the AVMA and make their voices heard.
We will be attending the AVMA’s Veterinary Leadership Conference January 5th-7th, 2023 in Chicago. Will you join us?
We will also be attending the AVMA’s Humane Endings Symposium January 27th-29th, 2023 in Chicago! Let us know if you are coming so we can all get together. Its so nice to be surrounded by like-minded compassionate veterinarians fighting for a better world for animals.
