The Animal Doctor

DEAR READERS: Most of you know that veterinarians work to keep companion and farmed animals in good health. There are specialist veterinary associations for different species, such as cattle and pigs, and specialists in many disciplines: from orthopedics and ophthalmology to nutrition, oncology and dermatology. And there are many who are dedicated to teaching the next generation in veterinary colleges.

But you may not know that veterinarians also work in food safety, slaughterhouse inspection, wildlife rehabilitation, and disease monitoring and prevention. Others keep animals in zoos, wildlife parks and refuges healthy, saving some species from extinction.

Veterinarians also use their skills for the benefit of animals in shelters and import quarantine facilities, and those in state, federal and corporate biomedical research laboratories, where animals are bred and raised in efforts to make advances in animal and human health.

Some veterinarians work for nonprofit organizations, such as World Vets and the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, to help keep wild and domesticated animals in good health while promoting animal welfare and protection standards and legislation. Professional veterinary organizations share these goals, notably the World Veterinary Association, the World Organisation for Animal Health, the International Veterinary Forensic Sciences Association and others.

Notably, veterinarians also serve in many government agencies, as listed by the nonprofit U.S. Animal Health Association (usaha.org/federal-and-state-animal-health). Here are just a few, sorted by department.

-- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, Veterinary Services and Wildlife Services divisions; Agricultural Research Services; Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service

-- U.S. Department of Homeland Security: Office of Health Affairs; Science and Technology Directorate

-- U.S. Department of the Interior: National Park Service; U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Resources Discipline and the National Wildlife Health Center; Fish and Wildlife Service

-- U.S. Department of Energy: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

-- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

Collectively, veterinarians play a pivotal role in public health -- especially by monitoring and preventing zoonotic (animal-to-human) diseases. For this reason, among others, the Trump administration’s defunding and firing of veterinary staff in any of these federal agencies via the so-called Department of Government Efficiency is imprudent and outrageous. The blind wrecking ball of DOGE, purportedly to reduce inflation, is causing chaos and disrupting the lives and families of thousands of dedicated government employees.

The firing of veterinarians working on finding preventives for the current H5N1 avian influenza virus was met with dismay (and was quickly rectified). The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides essential veterinary services, is unconscionable.

The defunding of the National Institutes of Health is a major concern for scientists and veterinarians. The NIH assists many medical research facilities with their overhead costs, allowing the institutions to remain focused on their work, but the Trump administration wants to dramatically slash this NIH support. Doing so would "cause a death spiral" for facilities that care for laboratory animals, according to the director of one such facility. If the proposed cuts are made, some institutions might have to euthanize thousands of animals. (See science.org/content/article/death-ax-nih-payments-lawsuit-could-determine-fate-millions-research-animals.)

The USDA’s Livestock Behavior Research Unit, the primary federal lab studying the welfare of farm animals, "has been decimated -- with now just one scientist remaining on staff," reports Sentient Media. (See sentientmedia.org/usda-farm-animal-welfare-research-lab-dismantled.)

This underscores the lack of compassion in the executive branch -- a lack that civil society must confront and rectify.

LIVE POULTRY OUTLETS IN NEW YORK CITIES CLOSED

On Feb. 7, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul issued an order to temporarily close live bird markets after cases of avian influenza were detected in seven markets in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. The closures apply to all bird markets, including those that did not report any cases, in New York City and in Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau counties.

To this, I say "about bloody time," and that these markets should never reopen.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR DR. FOX: You have written about many serious political issues arising from the Trump administration. This is my question: How can those of us who care make a difference? I feel so helpless. It is all very depressing. -- B.K., Washington, D.C.

DEAR B.K.: These are challenging times for all who bear the burden of empathy. Even so, we can all do something to live conscientiously, benevolently and mindfully, and to beat depression and despair.

First, stay informed. Read attorney Jim Mason’s book “Madness” (see review below) and my book “One Health.” Visit Project Drawdown (drawdown.org) to find more sustainable ways to live.

Cut down on the time you spend on social media and gaming, and drop energy-consuming cybercurrency transactions entirely. Find alternatives to plastic food containers and grocery bags. Avoid plastic toys for infants and children. If you have a garden or lawn, get a permit to rewild it with indigenous grasses, flowers, shrubs and trees, and don’t use pesticides on your property.

Substitute videoconferencing for business travel. As for pleasure travel, there is some benefit to taking eco-tours in countries with high biodiversity. This supports local businesses that benefit from, and have an incentive to protect, their countries’ ecosystems. It also persuades policymakers that there is economic gain in taking positions against extractive industries.

Buy less, waste less, recycle, repair and donate to the needy. Give to nonprofit organizations such as Greenpeace, Project Coyote, the Environmental Working Group and Friends of the Earth. Consider helping local charities or volunteering at your local animal shelter.

Reduce (ideally, eliminate) your consumption of alcohol and highly processed foods. Salt- and fat-laden snacks and sugary beverages are metabolic disruptors. Prepare your own meals with organically certified fruits, nuts, grains and vegetables. Consider the suffering and environmental impact of animal factories and feedlots, and go vegan -- or at least vegetarian. I will guarantee the physical and mental health benefits!

Adopt a cat or a dog and spend quality time outdoors. Walk, walk, walk. Take up birdwatching and use your smartphone to identify wild plants and birdsongs. Pick up a musical instrument and jam with friends.

Join hands with others, nationally and internationally, who embrace equalitarianism, social and ecological justice and planetary CPR: conservation, protection and restoration.

If we are not willing and able to die for what and whom we love, then what purpose do we have? Be free, harm none, courageously speak truth to power, and celebrate the gifts of life.

BOOK REVIEW: ‘MADNESS’ BY JIM MASON

“Madness: The Deep Driver of Our Climate Crisis; Lessons From My Family Farm” by Jim Mason

Attorney and author Mason vividly details his emotionally traumatic experiences of how animals were treated and killed while growing up on a farm, and how he became desensitized to their suffering. He expands on these memories to outline how the domestication, eventual confinement and increasing slaughter of animals for food and other commercial purposes -- along with the wholesale exploitation and desecration of nature -- have been the norm for civilizations past and present.

Humans have now reached the point, because of our numbers and the billions of animals raised for our consumption, where these norms have caused climate and extinction crises. This book explains this collective madness in succinct detail and offers solutions we should all embrace.

All who care about animals and nature will appreciate this contribution to understanding our planetary responsibilities. Those who care mainly about their own health and well-being should still follow Mason’s journey and discover the healing power of empathy and compassion for all creatures great and small.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Antibodies to the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus were found in the blood of three veterinarians out of 150 who work with cattle and agreed to have their blood tested, reports the CDC. The findings were presented in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which the agency has resumed publishing. The study participants also completed a questionnaire and reported no symptoms of illness, and they had no exposure to cattle known to be infected. “This means that people are being infected, likely due to their occupational exposures, and not developing signs of illness and therefore not seeking medical care,” said infectious diseases expert Gregory Gray. (Full story: The Associated Press, Feb. 13)

This raises the biosecurity issue of reverse zoonosis: people infecting animals. This is increasingly likely in all who have contact with chickens, ducks, turkeys and dairy cows, but who show no signs of illness.

The outbreak has also affected the economy. Per a Jan. 30 article in Forbes: "As of November 2024, the outbreak had cost the country approximately $1.4 billion, the majority of which is for indemnity and compensation payments to farmers for flocks that have been culled." These "culled" birds were inhumanely killed, by switching off the ventilation and even turning up the heat in some cases, to ostensibly help prevent the spread of this virus.

The COVID-19 pandemic pales in comparison to this panzootic disease that has killed many wildlife species, marine and terrestrial, around the world. As long as there are CAFOs -- concentrated animal feeding operations, commonly called factory farms and feedlots -- public health will always be at risk because the costs of effective biosecurity would undermine any significant profits from such inhumane forms of farmed animal production.

This complex animal welfare, environmental and public health issue should be on the agenda of every government around the world. Readers who would like more details can email me at IPAN@erols.com to receive my regularly updated file of news reports, "Avian Influenza: A Global Pandemic Not Just for the Birds."

Additionally, a new online resource from the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine provides reliable information for members of the general public, farmers, wildlife professionals, state and public health agencies, and veterinarians. Visit vet.cornell.edu/highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-bird-flu-resource-center.

DEAR DR. FOX: I liked your recent column, both for its comments on the idiotic plan to gut USAID and for the reference to animals in South India. I was born and raised in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and visit often -- especially my beloved Western Ghats, a priceless but threatened ecological treasure.

Is your late wife’s organization still active? Does it have a website or other source for information and possible support? -- P.Z., Northfield, Minnesota

DEAR P.Z.: My late wife, Deanna Krantz’s, organization -- India Project for Animals and Nature, summarized in the book “India’s Animals: Helping the Sacred and the Suffering” -- was victim of an illegal takeover. However, we continued to support the essential work of her chief veterinarian, Dr. M. Sugumaran, and his son, also a veterinarian. Father and son work together to help the poor villagers and tribal communities in the Nilgiri Mountains, famed for its cultural and biological diversity. For details, see the Prakriti Save Nature Trust website at prakritigudalur.in, which is government-certified to receive foreign donations.

For U.S. donors to get a tax deduction for donating to a 501(c)(3) charity organization, the California-based Humane Farming Association has generously offered to assist with processing donations. Checks should be made out to Humane Farming Association, with “Prakriti India” in the memo line, and sent to this address: Humane Farming Association, attn. Brad Miller, P.O. Box 3577, San Rafael CA 94912. All donors will receive a letter of acknowledgment from the HFA for their tax records.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)