EXCLUSIVE TO OSMA/AVQMR MEMBERS: Webinar – Rabbit hemorrhagic disease in canada: what shelter vets need to know.

TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2022 1 PM EST

Join us for a timely and case-based discussion about Rabbit Hemorrhage Disease! We will start with a real case from BC managed by Dr. Emilia Wong Gordon, the presenter, and discuss clinical signs, outbreak mitigation, regulatory considerations, vaccine options, and prevention/ population management for shelters and beyond. Attendees will leave with practical resources and renewed confidence in managing this disease as it pops up in Canada. Please note: this interactive discussion is limited to OSMA/ AVQMR members and contains several necropsy images and discussion of depopulation. Register here.

RABBIT HEMORRHAGIC DISEASE TOOLKIT – Exclusive to OSMA/AVQMR Members

We have prepared a toolkit to assist you in your process of applying for permits to order the RHD vaccine, should you/your practice/shelter be interested in doing so. Special thanks to Dr. Maggie Rockx from the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA for providing some of these resources to us.

In the toolkit you will find:

• Blank form – Application for Import Permit 
• Blank form – Application for Services 
• Template – Application for Services (page 1)
• Template – Application for Import Permit 
• Template – Cover letter RHDV import
• RHDV import guidelines

If you are an OSMA/AVQMR member, you can access toolkit here. If you aren’t a member, but you’d like to request access to these resources, please get in touch with us at info@ontariosheltermedicine.org

HELPFUL RESOURCE: BIRD FLU (AVIAN INFLUENZA) PROTOCOL FROM BC SPCA

Dr. Emilia Gordon, Senior Manager, Animal Care, BC SPCA has kindly shared the BC SPCA’s Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) protocol for others to use as a basis for their own measures. Access document here.

BIRD FLU (AVIAN INFLUENZA) AND SHELTERS – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

As everyone is aware by now, there is a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu in Ontario right now, and it’s set to get worse as the migratory birds return over the next few weeks. Currently there is an order from OMAFRA controlling movement/comingling of birds in Ontario – this will be in place until May 9th and will likely be extended. With respect to shelters, this means that incoming birds will have to stay in the shelter and be quarantined for 30 days while being kept separate from other birds. Read our blog post on this topic, published on April 28, here.

An Ontario Shelter Medicine Community

Shelter medicine is a rewarding, vibrant and growing field of veterinary medicine. The past 15 years have seen the formation of the highly influential Association of Shelter Veterinarians out of the U.S. With other organizations, the ASV has transformed sheltering. Through their work, Shelter Medicine has become a boarded veterinary specialty through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners.

However, many veterinarians and veterinary technicians working in and for animal shelters and rescues have never been exposed to shelter medicine as a unique discipline, and may not fully appreciate how different shelter medicine is from private veterinary practice.

The Ontario Shelter Medicine Association was born of the recognition that, despite the wonderful work being done by the ASV and others, shelter medicine in Canada needs its own voice. Access to a local network of shelter professionals will help us provide local solutions. We need to get shelter medicine into our schools. A strong shelter medicine community in Canada will work to address important issues like euthanasia practices, animal cruelty laws, animal hoarding and the transport of animals from other countries.