My webpage Over-vaccination of pets – an unethical practice provides a summary of the extensive research and correspondence undertaken by me and my colleague Bea Mies on over-vaccination of pets.

See below links to my correspondence, submissions, articles and other documents on over-vaccination of pets:

 

Key documents:

• Letter to Professor Ronald Schultz of the WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines Group, challenging the confusing and misleading use of the term ‘booster’ in relation to core MLV vaccines (20 August 2013).  Also see: UPDATE: Response from Professor Ronald Schultz re vaccination ‘boosters’ for dogs

• Over-vaccination of pets – an unethical practice (16 June 2009).  My essay summarises the issue of over-vaccination of pets.

• Is over-vaccination harming our pets? Are vets making our pets sick? (13 April 2009).  My detailed and fully-referenced report was tabled at a special meeting convened by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority on 15 April 2009 to discuss the problem of unnecessary vaccination of pets.

Correspondence with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), and others:

• Email to Kareena Arthy, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (23 April 2014) challenging continuing over-vaccination of dogs with core MLV vaccines.

• Email to James Suter, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (20 April 2011) with further questions re the APVMA’s responses to adverse experience reports being marked ‘COMMERCIAL-IN-CONFIDENCE’.

• Email to Australian Veterinary Boards (19 May 2011) enquiring if the APVMA’s Position Statement on Vaccination Protocols for Dogs and Cats had been circulated to veterinarians, as requested by the APVMA in September 2010.

• Open letter to Barry Smyth, President of the Australian Veterinary Association; Peter Punch, Chair of the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council; Eva Bennet-Jenkins, CEO, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (26 March 2011): A formal complaint re the continuing calls for already immune animals to be needlessly, and possibly harmfully, revaccinated.

• Email to James Suter, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (6 March 2011) “Request for information re adverse experience reporting / possible conflicts of interest”.

• Email to Allen Bryce, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (31 January 2011) re adverse experiences after vaccination

• Open letter to the veterinary profession and industry (9 August 2010) re use of the media to promote over-servicing in the veterinary profession- unnecessary, and possibly harmful, vaccination of companion animals.

• Response to Allen Bryce (23 June 2010), Program Manager, Veterinary Medicines, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority re unnecessary, and possibly harmful, vaccination of companion animals, and the APVMA’s Position Statement on Vaccination Protocols for Dogs and Cats.

• Open letter to Allen Bryce (17 June 2010), Program Manager, Veterinary Medicines, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority re unnecessary, and possibly harmful vaccination of companion animals, and the APVMA’s Position Statement on Vaccination Protocols for Dogs and Cats.

• Open letter to Mark Lawrie (May 2010) (Immediate Past) President of the Australian Veterinary Association re over-servicing in the veterinary profession – unnecessary, and possibly harmful, vaccination of companion animals  (6 May 2010, with an update added on pages 3-4 on 23 May 2010).

• Open letter to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (24 January 2010), Australian Veterinary Association, Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association, and Competition and Consumer Policy Division, The Treasury re unnecessary vaccination of pets and the APVMA’s Position Statement on Vaccination Protocols for Dogs and Cats.

• Open letter to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (8 January 2010), Australian Veterinary Association and Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association re unnecessary vaccination of pets and the APVMA’s Position Statement on Vaccination Protocols for Dogs and Cats.

• Open letter to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (22 December 2009), Australian Veterinary Association and Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association re over-vaccination of pets / APVMA Position Statement / vaccine product labelling issues.

• Is over-vaccination harming our pets? Are vets making our pets sick? (13 April 2009).  This detailed and fully-referenced report was tabled at a special meeting convened by the APVMA on 15 April 2009 to discuss the problem of unnecessary vaccination of pets.

Correspondence with the UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD):

• Email to Anna-Maria Brady, UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate (23 June 2011) requesting evidence to support the veterinary industry’s call for revaccination of pets.

• Email to Anna-Maria Brady, UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate (15 May 2011) with questions re core vaccine product labelling in regards to duration of immunity.

• Email to Anna-Maria Brady, UK Veterinary Medicines Directorate (1 April 2011) providing a pet owner’s perspective on pet vaccination.

• More emails on this topic are accessible on the VMD website: http://www.vmd.defra.gov.uk/public/vaccines_letters.aspx#hart

Correspondence with Virbac Animal Health (Disease WatchDog):

• Email to Mark Kelman, Virbac / Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association (7 February 2011) re further questions about the Virbac Disease WatchDog.

• Email to Mark Kelman, Virbac / Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association (26 January 2011) re alarming statistics regarding parvovirus and the Virbac Disease WatchDog.

• Email to Mark Kelman, Virbac / Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association (31 July 2010), re canine vaccination protocols.

Submissions on the subject of unnecessary vaccination of pets:

• A Submission to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (24 June 2011), on the Draft Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons.

• A Submission on the National Scheme for Assessment, Registration and Control of Use of Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Discussion Paper in relation to “Unnecessary, and Possibly Harmful, Use of Companion Animal Vaccines” (10 February 2010).

• Submission to Craig Emerson MP (17 July 2009), Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs, on the Consumer Voices Issues Paper: “Request for consumer protection for consumers of veterinary services in Australia”.

Correspondence to Members of Parliament:

• Email to Senator Joe Ludwig, Minister responsible for the APVMA (26 November 2011), complaining about the failure of ‘self-regulation’ of veterinarians.

• Letter to Craig Emerson MP (4 July 2010), Federal Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs re submission on the Consumer Voices Issues Paper: “Request for consumer protection for consumers of veterinary services in Australia”.

• Letter to Tony Burke MP (17 June 2010), Federal Minister responsible for the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, re unnecessary, and possibly harmful, vaccination of companion animals, and the APVMA’s Position Statement on Vaccination Protocols for Dogs and Cats (17 June 2010).

Articles and summaries re over-vaccination of pets:

• The Australian campaign for ethical and evidence-based vaccination of companion animals (February 2012).

• Vaccination failure!  There is a potential for maternally derived antibodies (MDA) to interfere with a puppy’s response to core vaccination. (Article published in the May 2011 edition of National Dog).

• Important Information for Dog Owners – Vaccination Update July 2010 (An earlier version of this article was also published in National Dog Volume 13, No. 6).

• Letter to the Editor of The Veterinarian magazine (8 June 2010) Response to Aine Seavers’ article “Three-year vaccination intervals: a different view from the parvo trenches of practice-land”.

• Letter to the Editor of The Veterinarian magazine (7 June 2010): ‘A pet owner’s perspective of the vaccination controversy’.

• Too many needles !  Unnecessary vaccination exposed (February 2010. Article published in National Dog in April 2010).

• The over-vaccination controversy continues (Article published in National Dog in December 2009).

• Over-vaccination: Are vets making our pets sick? (June 2009. Article published in National Dog in July 2009).

• Over-vaccination of pets – an unethical practice (16 June 2009).  This essay summarises the issue of over-vaccination of pets.

Media reports re over-vaccination of pets:

• Media reports re over-vaccination of pets in Australia August –October 2010

• Examples of reports in the Australian media about parvovirus outbreaks during the period Dec 2009 to March 2011.