Today there is a province-wide strike amongst veterinary surgeons because of a change of law which has come down from Europe, which puts pets lives at risk.

Only two countries in Europe have taken this law onboard; Italy and Spain. The Spanish Government wanted Spain to pioneer this law.

So, what’s the problem? Your pet suddenly falls ill. He has a fever, stops eating, and is listless. You rush to the vet expecting quick answers. But instead of immediate treatment, you encounter delays because drug regulations require endless bureaucratic procedures before a life-saving antibiotic can be administered.

Vet’s have to go through a procedure of different antibiotics even when they know which one is urgently needed. Each time one of the antibiotic steps is taken, they come with observation periods of several days, so that by the time that the vet can actually prescribe the antibiotic needed in a particular case, the pets health has worsened or even resulted in death.

The new law apparently prioritises bureaucracy over medical practice. Here are some of the consequences of this new law:

• Delays in urgent treatments: In critical cases, lost time can worsen the condition of animals or even cost them their lives.

• Limitation of professional clinical judgment: vets cannot always prescribe the most appropriate treatment, but only those that bureaucracy approves.

• Unaffordable costs for owners: The required tests can be expensive, and when they cannot be afforded, pets are left without treatment.

• Excessive administrative burden: Instead of focusing on saving lives, vets spend hours managing documentation.

Veterinary Surgeons all over Spain go on strike today, starting at 11.00h. They want a system that works and for the Government to trust veterinary surgeons over the responsible use of antibiotics. They are demanding a much simpler administrative arrangement that prioritises animal health over bureaucracy.

Vet’s have their hands tied and cannot act quickly and effectively in emergencies and it is your pet that may pay the price.

Finally, there is a Change.org, online signature collection which presently stands at 78,414 but the objective is 150,000 signatures. Speak to your local vet for their view.

(News: Granada, Andalucia)

Keywords: EU, Spain, Italy, Antibiotics, Needless Bureaucracy, Pets, Crucial Time Lost

news, andalucia, granada, eu, spain, italy, antibiotics, needless bureaucracy, pets, crucial time lost

Reader’s comments: “In Belgium, small animal vets are facing similar problems. The intention of the governments is to protect the general population’s health by restricting the use of second and third category antibiotics in farm animals that will end up in the foodchain, this prevents the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria that can threaten humans.

Small animal vets however, have to follow these same procedures: second and third category antibiotics can only be used if their necessity is proven by bacterial culture in labs, which can take up to four days. Thus loosing essential time if the affected animals are infected with bacteria that are resistant to first category antibiotics.

But infections in companion animals are not going to pose health issues for the general public. The regulations should therefore make a better difference between companion animals and farm animals. The problem is that there are a lot of vets that treat both categories from their own pharmacy stock, making it difficult to trace which animal get which antibiotic…” – Johan Devalez