I was on a plane a few years ago and the woman sitting next to me asked about my profession. I told her I was a swine veterinarian to which she responded, “Oh, I love those birds! Tell me, how do they change from black to white?” After a moment of puzzlement, it occurred to me that she thought I said “swan” veterinarian. I will attribute the misunderstanding to the engine noise rather than my Southern accent, since I do not have one. Anyway, after having the joy of writing this column 6 times a year for the last 13 years, this article will be my swan song.

I have used this column as a mechanism to try to provide a more in-depth look at our advocacy efforts on behalf of the association regarding current issues facing swine veterinarians. The fact that I am not an expert on many of the issues has never stopped me from taking the opportunity to educate anyone who would listen, as evidenced by my 30-minute conversation with my seatmate regarding swans. I am happy to say that the AASV has the great fortune of having hired a couple of bona fide experts in the fields of animal welfare and public health—Mrs Sherrie Webb and Dr Abbey Canon, respectively. Sherrie has a master’s degree in animal science with an emphasis on stress physiology and spent 13 years as the director of animal welfare with the National Pork Board. Abbey has a doctor of veterinary medicine degree, a master’s degree in public health, is board certified in the American College of Veterinary Preventative Medicine, and worked for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I thought I would take the opportunity with this issue to let Sherrie and Abbey introduce themselves, give a little of their background, and offer their thoughts about the impact of swine welfare and public health on the future of the swine industry. I obviously leave this column in very capable hands and look forward to turning it over to them.

Harry Snelson, DVM
Executive Director

Protecting animal welfare

The American Veterinary Medical Association revised the veterinarian’s oath in 2011 to include the protection of animal welfare and the prevention and relief of animal suffering to clearly identify animal welfare as a priority of the veterinary profession. While this addition occurred within the past 10 years, animal welfare has been at the heart of veterinary medicine for far longer. The primary focus has been within the realm of animal heath through prevention and treatment of disease, but the scope of animal welfare has expanded over the past 40 years as we learn more about complex social behaviors and how animals process information through experience and their senses.

During Dr Mary Battrell’s presentation at this year’s AASV Annual Meeting, she stated that part of her role as a veterinarian during a disease outbreak is to listen, teach, and coach. I would submit that veterinarians have a similar role for animal welfare. Veterinarians are in a key position to learn what challenges caretakers are facing when caring for their pigs and help identify areas of concern and opportunities for improvement to promote good welfare. Awareness of domestic and international animal welfare issues and good animal care practices allows veterinarians to serve as an important resource for producers as they make decisions about daily animal care. These decisions obviously have a direct impact on the animal and its well-being but can also impact the well-being of the caretaker, the environment, the farm’s profitability, and the entire US pork industry.

After spending 13 years helping producers navigate pig welfare issues during my tenure at the National Pork Board, I was excited to shift gears and address these topics from a new perspective with a different audience, the veterinarian. My goal is to use this column to highlight timely domestic and international animal welfare topics that are of interest to swine veterinarians and the clients they serve. I invite and welcome your input on animal welfare topics of interest as well as ideas for animal welfare related resources you feel this organization should provide as a benefit to the broader AASV membership.

Sherrie Webb, MSc
Director of Swine Welfare

Healthy animals – healthy food – healthy people

My grandparents built a diversified family-farm in Iowa but retired when I was in elementary school. One generation too late, I desperately wanted to raise livestock. I helped many friends with 4-H and FFA projects and jumped into learning everything I could about animal agriculture. While studying animal science and international agriculture at Iowa State University, I took “Foods of Animal Origin,” which spurred me to investigate animal-based protein and human nutrition during two summer internships in Africa. The combination of my meat science classes and summer internships drove my career path. That was my first look at the link between healthy animals, healthy food, and healthy people. Driven by that link, my purpose in earning my DVM was never to work on individual animals; my DVM gave me the opportunity to improve human health through animals.

Now I know that this link is part of One Health—the concept that animal, human, and environmental health are all connected—a buzzword with which many in the veterinary profession are familiar. But what role do we, as swine veterinarians specifically, have in One Health?

Of our 14 AASV committees, 4 are directly related to One Health or public health. Two more address One Health topics depending on what events might be occurring in swine health. Five involve personnel, the general public, and communication about top swine production issues, including One Health issues (eg, food safety, antibiotic use, and environmental impact).

The challenges human and swine health professionals simultaneously face continuously evolve, but the strong link between human and animal health and disease provides opportunities for collaboration and improved health for all. During the 50th AASV Annual Meeting, I repeatedly heard the call to work together. Cross-disciplinary collaboration, shared resources, and respect for each other’s strengths will help us accomplish our goals in the next half-century. I have always been an advocate for the swine industry and all of animal agriculture. This has sometimes been challenging in the various human health roles I have held, but I appreciate the opportunity to represent animal health and agriculture to human health audiences, and human health to animal agriculture audiences. I strive to do what is best for both pigs and people.

As food-animal veterinarians, I am sure you do not need to be convinced why One Health is important. Everything you do impacts animal health, human health, and environmental health. You are swine veterinarians because people eat animal-based protein. The bottom line is we make safe, healthy, wholesome food for people.

I hope to use this column to continue bringing important issues to your attention and create awareness of advocacy efforts on behalf of the association regarding current issues facing swine veterinarians. We are here for the pigs, but we cannot forget that the pigs are here for the people.

Abbey Canon, DVM, MPH, DACVPM
Director of Communications