Danish Small Animal Veterinary Association (DSAVA) Emdrupvej 28 A
DK 2100 O
Denmark Tel: +45 38 710888
Fax: +45 38 710322
E-mail: ITM@emdrupvej28a.dk
Website: www.ddd.dk WSAVA President/Representative
Karina Ryborg
k-ryborg@post.cybercity.dk Membership number: 957(2011) _________________________________ Cats
The DSAVA has also this year been fighting for mandatory identification of cats together with other Danish animal welfare organizations. This has resulted in a common proposal about registration of cats. Last time DSAVA worked with this important issue was in 2009 – unfortunately, a similar common proposal was back then rejected by The Danish Ministry of Justice. But later this year the new proposal will be brought to the Ministry of Justice - hopefully with a positive result.
ISO 9000 certification
Moreover, the DSAVA keeps working for a common standard of high quality and liability in the Danish small animal practices. The ISO 9000 certification is replacing a former certification system in Denmark. Hopefully, at the end of 2011 already 25 small animal practices will be ISO 9000 certified by Det Norske Veritas, DNV.
Communication
The DVASA publishes eight times annually a magazine for their members called “Journalen”. It is mainly reporting about professional topics - for instance announcing new legislations, upcoming political initiatives and so on. Furthermore, the magazine is important for announcing social events, keeping the members up-to-date with the international news and serving as a source of inspiration.
Two important events – the Spring Meeting and the Annual meeting
Each year the DSAVA is holding a so-called “spring-meeting” for their members. In May this year the DSAVA was lucky to have Susan Little from Canada to give a lecture on Feline Internal Medicine. The meeting was a great success with many participants.
In November another big event – the so-called “annual-meeting” - is hold by the DSAVA, and this year’s topics will be Pain Management by Dr. Robin Downing, Respiratory Diseases by Dr. Philip Padrid and Rehabilitation by Dr. Lowri Davies. The DSAVA is very excited to present these excellent speakers and is looking forward to the event.
International relations
The DSAVA is putting a lot of effort into the international work since we believe that it is very important to be a part of the international scene. The DSAVA is co-operating with several international organizations hereby FECAVA and WSAVA. Especially identification of small animals, illegal puppy trade, One Health and hygiene in the clinics are important issues that are best solved by international cooperation and legislation.
The future
In the future the DSAVA will focus on several topics - some of the main ones are listed below:
• Policy paper on the use of antibiotics in the small animal clinic
• Policy paper on animal behavior
• Policy paper on organ transplantation and chronically illness Karina Ryborg, DSAVA Chairman
______________________________ National Report DSAVA 2010 Dangerous Dogs
In the spring and summer of 2009 and up till now the public debate in Denmark concerning dangerous dogs has become quite intense. The media has been focusing on unfortunate events where children, grown ups and animals have been frightened and unfortunately also bitten by dogs belonging to certain breeds. The popular terminology “Fight – and muscle-dogs” has become an institution overnight although the exact definition for this certain group of dogs has not been established.
The DSAVA held a seminar to highlight the academic aspect in the discussion. Furthermore DVASA was represented when The Danish Ministry of Justice set up a committee which was tasked to conduct a comprehensive review of the Danish legislation concerning dogs. DVASA found it important to focus on the professional aspect of the discussion. The political opinion was that a ban against specific races would solve the problem and that opinion set the direction for the work in the committee. The committee issued a report and several of the members did not find that a ban against specific breeds was the solution.
DSAVA supports this statement and has several times pointed out that DSAVA finds no objective criteria for determining which breeds are dangerous. DSAVA finds education for the owners in responsible dog ownership and optimal utilization of existing legislation to be the most effective way to minimize problems associated with unwanted aggressive behaviour of dogs.
Contrary to all expectations the Danish Government forbade 13 specific breeds and DVASA now focus on the difficult task of dealing deal with the unforeseeable consequences for farmers, veterinarians etc. Annual meeting and Spring meeting
The main issues at the annual meeting were “Medical Emergencies” by DVM Elizabeth Rozanski and “Soft tissue surgery by DVM Gilles Dupré. The meeting was a success and very well visited.
At the spring meeting Susan Little from Canada lectured about Feline Internal Medicine. Cats
Along with animal welfare organisations the DSAVA fought for mandatory identification of cats. The result was a proposal to The Danish Ministry of Justice, who unfortunately rejected the common proposal. Next step will be audience for the Legal Committee.
Blue dog
The Blue Dog project started in Denmark in early spring 2009 and can be visited at www.hej-hund.dk . The project was well received in the media. The public showed great interest and the platform is still very well visited. There is a lot of information on the language of the dog, the interaction between owners and dogs etc. DVASA now awaits new initiatives from The Blue Dog Foundation. The plan is to re-launch the project and maybe modify the message towards the pleasure and advantage of having a dog instead of a message of how dangerous it might be.
Communication
“Journalen” which is DVASA journal for their members, is a medium for announcing new legislation, political attitudes, social events, news from abroad etc. “Journalen” is published 8 times a year. International relations
DVASA finds it very important to follow and influence the international scene and is very engaged in the co-operation with international organisations such as FECAVA and WSAVA. Topics such as illegal puppy trade and hygiene in the clinics are important international issues. The future
DVASA wants to focus on several topics, some of the main ones are listed below:
• Policy paper on the use of antibiotics.
• Policy paper on animal welfare.
• Policy paper on transplantation of organs.
• Certification of clinics.
Jan Birch, DSAVA Chairman
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