AVMA President Clears Santa's Reindeer for Christmas Flight

Dr. Rene Carlson says deer are healthy and pose no disease risk for the rest of the world.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) returned this week from a health check-up at the North Pole, declaring Santa's reindeer to be healthy, free of disease, and ready for their Christmas Eve flight.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111201/DC15738)

"I can assure you that all of them are in healthy condition and are all ready to go for Christmas Eve," said Dr. Rene Carlson, upon her return to the United States.

In addition to supervising all of the business affairs of the association, the AVMA president serves as the official veterinarian of the North Pole. In this role, Dr. Carlson is charged with providing the yearly health exam for Santa's reindeer.

The reindeers' annual exam includes ensuring a health check about a month prior to their Christmas Eve flight to make sure they're healthy and not showing any signs of disease, such as brucellosis, tuberculosis, or chronic wasting disease, that can be transmitted to other animals.

"It's important that they don't have any diseases they could give to other animals during their trip around the world," said Dr. Carlson. "They also need to be healthy, so they're less likely to catch any diseases themselves on that long flight."

Once she determined the reindeer were healthy, Dr. Carlson filled out the official "North Pole Certificate of Animal Export" (view the certificate [http://www.avma.org/reindeer/CertInspReindeer2011.pdf]) that provides Santa with the documents he and his reindeer need to travel.

Dr. Carlson will make a follow-up trip to the North Pole prior to Christmas to make sure the reindeers' feet and legs are in good shape to take off and land on the rooftops and that they're still ready for the flight. She'll also perform a nose-check on Rudolph to make sure it's good to glow.

For kids who want to help the reindeer on their journey, Dr. Carlson recommended leaving a plate of graham cracker reindeer cookies, their favorite snack, for Santa to feed them between stops.

Dr. Carlson's role as official veterinarian of the North Pole is similar to many veterinarians around the world who work with livestock and other animals that travel across borders and around the world (even if they do so in a less flashy way than Santa's reindeer). Veterinarians play an integral role in insuring all of the world's animals are healthy, free of disease, and pose no risk when traveling.

For more information on the AVMA president's role as North Pole Veterinarian, including photos and a short video from Dr. Carlson's North Pole visit and answers to kids' questions about reindeer, view AVMA's "Reindeer landing" page [www.avma.org/reindeer/default.asp].

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Michael San Filippo
American Veterinary Medical Association
Tel: 847-285-6687
Cell: 847-732-6194
e-mail: [email protected] 

SOURCE American Veterinary Medical Association