The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) and World Animal Protection have joined forces to promote enhanced levels of animal welfare around the world. Under the terms of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed at the 2014 WSAVA World Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, they have agreed to work together to achieve four key goals:
- The promotion of animal welfare education globally
- The delivery of companion animal programmes, which include humane and sustainable population management and canine rabies control
- The engagement of the global veterinary community on animal welfare and ethical issues
- The raising of awareness globally of animal welfare issues
To help achieve these goals, the organisations have agreed an activity plan which involves collaboration in a range of areas, including:
- Developing CE (Continuing Education) in animal welfare for small animal practitioners based on World Animal Protection’s well-established ‘Concept in Animal Welfare’ methodology
- Creating guidelines for veterinarians working in disaster management
- Exploring joint outreach projects around WSAVA World Congresses
- Promoting the full cycle of Dog Population Management and integrated mass dog vaccination to help to control a spectrum of problems associated with large free roaming dog populations, such as dog bites, disease transmission and nuisance.
They will also share resources, information and expertise and actively participate in each other’s events.
