Newly launched AVMA animal welfare hub receives 2014 World Veterinary Day Award

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., June 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) was selected as the recipient of the 2014 World Veterinary Day Award for the development of a comprehensive, international, online animal welfare hub.

The new hub was launched on World Veterinary Day, April 29, 2014, and provides easy access to the AVMA's animal welfare policies, guidelines, literature reviews and other trusted resources. It also includes a new discussion forum for AVMA and Student AVMA members to exchange ideas on animal welfare-related issues.

This year's World Veterinary Day was celebrated by local, regional and international veterinary associations in more than 30 countries from all world regions. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and World Veterinary Association (WVA) presented the World Veterinary Day Award to AVMA President Dr. Clark K. Fobian during the opening session of the 82^nd OIE General Assembly in Paris. The audience was comprised of chief veterinary officers and delegations from more than 170 member countries of the OIE and invited guests such as the directors general of the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and ministers of agriculture from more than a dozen member countries.

"We are tremendously excited and honored to be recognized by our distinguished colleagues within the WVA and the OIE for our efforts to improve veterinarians' access to animal welfare-related information and to facilitate their conversations on these topics," said Dr. Fobian. "This leads to an opportunity for all veterinarians within the United States and globally to improve the welfare of animals and the physical and economic well-being of those people who care for them." 

The AVMA chose to honor this year's World Veterinary Day theme of animal welfare by creating an international hub of animal welfare resources for both veterinarians and the general public. These resources include policies and position statements, literature reviews, animal welfare newsletters, and access to educational materials and programs. The hub covers all aspects of animal well-being across a range of species, including proper breeding and selection, housing, nutrition, management, disease and injury prevention and treatment, and humane handling.

"We are hopeful that the AVMA hub will serve as a nexus where veterinarians from around the world can not only access the information they need to ensure good welfare for the patients in their care today, but also keep abreast of emerging information and practical applications that will allow them to help develop best practices for tomorrow," said Dr. Gail Golab, director of the AVMA Animal Welfare Division.

The launch of the new AVMA animal welfare hub has received more than 265 mentions in the U.S. press and was mentioned in more than 300 media outlets from North and Latin America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.  

Pictures from the WVD Award ceremony can be found on the World Veterinary Association website [http://www.worldvet.org/library.php?item=67&cat=pictures&view=album].  

The AVMA, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world, with more than 85,000 member veterinarians worldwide engaged in a wide variety of professional activities and dedicated to the art and science of veterinary medicine.

SOURCE American Veterinary Medical Association