The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) House of Delegates held its annual Leadership Conference January 13 – 15, 2006 in Chicago, IL.
AASV was represented by Drs. David Madsen and Bill Hollis, the association’s AVMA House of Delegates representatives. In addition, Dr. Jason Kelly attended the meeting as the AASV Recent Graduate representative and Dr. Darrell Neuberger was also present in his capacity as the President of the Iowa Veterinary Medical Association. This conference provides an opportunity for informal discussion between the House of Delegates and the leadership of the allied associations.
Dr. Liz Wagstrom, AASV member and National Pork Board Assistant VP, gave a presentation on agriculture and public health before the House of Delegates. She illustrated a number of the challenges associated with the interaction of veterinary medicine and public health professionals emphasizing the potential impact of zoonotic diseases and the need for veterinary involvement in human disease response planning.
Animal welfare was also a frequent topic of discussion both within the House of Delegates and during allied caucus sessions. AVMA announced the development of an Animal Welfare Advisory Committee charged with establishing overarching veterinary animal welfare principles that are directly applicable to the veterinary profession and will serve as the basis for the AVMA to develop and judge proposed and existing animal welfare policies, resolutions and actions. AASV will be instrumental in selecting nominees to fill as many as four of the seven committee positions.
The formal House of Delegates meeting will occur during the AVMA annual meeting in July in Hawaii.