WSAVA contact for feedback:
WSAVA has recognised that the recently launched reproduction control guidelines for cats and dogs has prompted much discussion within many communities and has expressed commitment to providing open channels for feedback. Anyone wishing to provide feedback on the reproduction guidelines, or any other aspect of WSAVA’s work, is encouraged to send their thoughts to feedback@wsava.org. All feedback will be reviewed with a view to identifying common themes, and it is WSAVA’s wholehearted intention to respond to such themes in due course. They suggest following WSAVA social media channels for updates.
ICAM position:
ICAM is a coalition with the mission to support the development of humane and effective population management for dogs and cats, in which reproduction control plays a central role. Hence, we were excited to hear the launch of WSAVA Reproduction Control Committee’s guidelines on the control of reproduction in dogs and cats. There are sections of the guidelines where veterinary surgeons can find useful information; in particular sections 2.1 on surgical methods of sterilisation with associated loss of gonadal hormones, 2.3 on antimicrobial use and 2.4 on pain control.
However, we found the recommendations within these guidelines have been written with a particular audience in mind; the individual practitioner or clinic serving privately owned animals in economically developed countries. The wider global veterinary community does not appear to have been well recognised; there are veterinarians around the world, often in low or middle income communities, that are working to influence populations of dogs and cats for the benefit of animal welfare, the wellbeing of the human communities that these dogs and cats live amongst and public health.
Population management of dogs and cats requires control of reproduction. In some countries, some owned dogs and cats are constantly confined, very closely supervised, and can be monitored by their owners who have access to veterinary services should any concerns arise. This is a situation to be celebrated and to which these WSAVA guidelines are suited.
Unfortunately, this is not the reality for the majority of dogs and cats around the world. Many are unowned, community-owned or have owners who keep their animals unconfined and have very limited access to veterinary services. This may be perceived as ‘irresponsible’ ownership, but such a value judgement does not recognise that in many cultures allowing companion animals to roam is the norm, housing infrastructure does not provide realistic opportunities to confine dogs or cats, and these individual animals may not have been socialised to living in confined spaces with people hence would find confinement highly stressful. In many places, veterinary services to meet the ongoing health needs of dogs and cats are limited, unaffordable and inaccessible to many. The moment of surgical sterilisation may be one of the few moments of veterinary care in a dog or cat’s life. Removal of gonads during sterilisation of these dogs and cats is highly beneficial because it prevents breeding behaviours between free-roaming animals; behaviours that cause real nuisance to people, increased contact rates and risk of disease transmission between animals and increased risk of injury through aggressive interactions. It also provides the many health benefits outlined in chapter 4 of the guidelines that are extremely important for these dogs and cats who are unlikely to benefit from significant future veterinary intervention. This is achieved through orchiectomy of males and ovariohysterectomy or ovariectomy of females, depending on surgeon preference.
The guidelines mention ‘feral’ dogs and cats; the definition of a feral animal is one that lives in a wild state unsupported by people, however such animals comprise a very small proportion of the free-roaming dog and cat population. The guidelines note that the category of “unowned stray” animals is not discussed; if this definition includes all the unowned, community-owned and loosely owned dogs and cats that live amongst people, then to not discuss appropriate reproduction control of this very large proportion of the global population is remiss.
The guidelines specifically mention TNR programmes as a humane alternative to culling, which is a positive and accurate position. TNR is then criticised as only working “temporarily or when employed continuously”, but without the same criticism levelled at culling: Culling as a method of control suffers from the same temporary effect, but to a greater extent than TNR due to all remaining animals being intact and able to breed, with reduced competition over resources, driving quick replenishment of the population after culls. Any method used in isolation and focused only on the current free-roaming animals will be limited in its ability to have a long-term and population-wide impact. TNR of community and unowned animals needs to be combined with interventions that target the owned population to reduce this additional source of future free-roaming animals through roaming, loss and abandonment.
The guidelines include a proposal that, in ‘certain projects’, feral male dogs and cats are vasectomised to keep social structures intact. This is an interesting theory, but lacks real world evidence and makes assumptions about the breeding behaviour of dogs and cats including the role of a ‘dominant’ male; dominance in dogs is, in particular, unsupported by the evidence. It also does not account for the risk of disease transmission and injury from ongoing breeding behaviours, nor that most free-roaming dogs and cats are not feral and instead live within human communities who would prefer a reduction in nuisance behaviours related to breeding.
The global veterinary community is working hard to limit dog and cat reproduction to ultimately improve both public health and animal welfare: We celebrate their contribution.
About International Companion Animal Management (ICAM) Coalition
ICAM supports the development and use of humane and effective companion animal population management worldwide. The coalition was formed in 2006 as a forum for discussion on global dog and cat management issues.
Our key goals are to:
- Share ideas and data
- Discuss issues relevant to population management and welfare
- Agree definitions and hence improve understanding
- Provide guidance as a collegial and cohesive group
