World Veterinary Day 2020 Promotes Environmental Protection

Veterinary teams understand that animal health does not exist in a vacuum. They know that pet health both impacts and is impacted by human and environmental interaction. Thus, the World Veterinary Association (WVA) and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) acknowledged the important role that veterinary teams play in “environmental protection for improving animal and human health”—the theme of World Veterinary Day 2020 (held April 25^th).
Created in 2000 by the WVA to honor the veterinary profession and their lifesaving work, World Veterinary Day has steadily embraced the interconnectedness of animals, people, and the environment (a concept called One Health). In 2018, the theme of World Veterinary Day centered on the crucial role that veterinarians play in more sustainable animal husbandry practices, which (according to the WVA) “improve not only the health of animals, but also the health and well-being of people and the environment.” And in 2019, the WVA partnered with the global animal medicines association HealthforAnimals to promote the Value of Vaccines as an essential tool for both veterinary medicine and reducing the risk of human exposure to zoonotic pathogens.
For World Veterinary Day 2020, the WVA again partnered with HealthforAnimals to celebrate veterinary professionals and more formally acknowledge their roles as practitioners and advocates of One Health (a concept called One World – One Health by the Wildlife Conservation Society). While the AVMA noted on its website that studies in the areas of human, animal, and environmental science “are largely conducted independently, and obvious connections may be missed,” the AVMA also noted in the same post that, as the human population continues to grow and relationships with animals continue to evolve, “understanding the interdependencies of people, animals, and the environment becomes even more critical to our collective health and safety.”
While the words were not written in reference to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the AVMA did release an article on April 22^nd, 2020 that specifically framed the importance of One Health against the crisis. Titled “One Health legislation: The need is clear,” the article says, “Now more than ever, it’s important that lawmakers understand the importance of a coordinated One Health approach to dealing with infectious disease outbreaks.”

“The strength of One World – One Health,” notes the Canadian Public Health Association on its website, “is that it relies on cooperation and partnership across disciplines and among countries to protect a common global interest—effective public health.”

In helping protect global public health, the AVMA honors the three pillars of support that veterinary professionals provide. In their commitment to animal health and welfare, they help protect both public and environmental health through many different protocols, practices, and disciplines.
Said another way: As health care agencies around the world advocate One Health for a better tomorrow, veterinary professionals can deservedly slice themselves a piece of cake this World Veterinary Day in the knowledge they’re helping bring that tomorrow into reality.
To help practice teams today in their work to serve clients and patient health, and ultimately collective health and safety during these difficult days, we invite you to download our complimentary COVID-19 Response Kit, which includes:

FIVE new and updated COVID-19 ClientEd handouts to help you more easily answer pet owner questions about COVID-19 and optimize your time to focus on taking care of day-to-day business
FOUR updated social media images and three printable posters to communicate changing protocols with clients on your social channels
A fillable curbside medical history form to assist with curbside care
A WebDVM COVID-19 web page template
An ALLYDVM direct email template

And more.
LifeLearn’s COVID-19 Response Kit is part of LifeLearn’s COVID-19 Practice Resources page, filled with complimentary resources to help practices, including: