The implications of climate change for Veterinary Services

Objective: To assess how pet owners perceive the role of veterinary medicine in addressing climate change and animal health and determine if there is a client-driven economic incentive to establish sustainable veterinary business practices.Sample: 1,044 dog and/or cat owners residing in the United States who had used veterinary services within the last 3 years.Procedures: An online Amazon mTurk survey about climate change and the perceived effects on client-owned dogs and cats was distributed to pet owners.Results: Most respondents believe climate change is occurring, and two-thirds of pet owners would value knowing their veterinarian received training on the animal health impacts of climate change. Over half of the respondents would pay more for veterinary services at a clinic with a reduced environmental impact. Additionally, clients would value some form of sustainability certification to aid in identification of such practices. Demographic influences found to be statistically significant included age, political ideology and where one resides (i.e., urban, suburban, or rural) whereas gender and income level, were not found to be significant.Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Our data suggest there is an economic incentive for veterinary professionals to be knowledgeable about the health impacts of climate change and to implement and market sustainable practice initiatives. Prioritizing sustainable practice initiatives and climate change education in veterinary practices has the potential to mutually benefit both practitioner and client through shared patient health and financial incentives.

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How external factors (e.g. Climate change, conflicts, socio-economics, trading patterns) will impact Veterinary Services and the adaptations required

10.20506/tt.2984 ◽

2019 ◽

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

External Factors ◽

Veterinary Services ◽

Trading Patterns

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Introduction â€“ Veterinary Services in a changing world: climate change and other external factors

Revue Scientifique et Technique de l OIE ◽

10.20506/rst.40.2.3230 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 40 (2) ◽

pp. 371-382

Author(s):

J. SMITH ◽

D. GRACE ◽

H.S. LEE

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

External Factors ◽

Veterinary Services ◽

Changing World

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Socio-economic determinants of smallholder mixed crop-livestock farmers’ choice of climate change adaptation in the drylands of Northern Ethiopia

International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management ◽

10.1108/ijccsm-09-2020-0099 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Habtamu Taddele Menghistu ◽

Girmay Tesfay ◽

Amanuel Zenebe Abraha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Marketing Strategy ◽

Logit Model ◽

Market Access ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Climate Information ◽

Veterinary Services ◽

Content Type ◽

Livestock Farmers

Purpose This paper aims to understand the perception of smallholder farmers on climate change, identify major livestock related climate change adaptation (CCA) strategies and their determinants in selected neighboring districts of Tigray and Amhara regions of Ethiopia. Design/methodology/approach A total of 416 household heads were involved in a questionnaire survey using a multistage sampling approach. To understand the socio-economic factors that influence farmers’ perception on climate change (CC) and/or variability, a binary logit model was used. Multinomial logit model was used to identify the determinants of smallholder farmers’ choices of adaptation strategies. Findings Milk reduction, weight loss, feed shortage and frequent animal disease outbreak were indicated as major impacts of CC on livestock production. About 86.2% of the farmers’ exercise CCA measures where livestock health care and management (25%), followed by livelihood diversification (21.5%) and shifting and diversification of livestock species (20.9%) were the top three adaptation measures implemented. Education, knowledge on CCA strategies, access to veterinary service and extension, market access, annual income, non-farm income, total livestock unit, sex of household head and household size were the major determinant factors to farmers’ choice of CCA. Research limitations/implications Concerned authorities working in CC related sectors should give due attention to improve smallholder farmers’ access to extension and veterinary services, market access and climate information to enhance their adaptive capacity to CC impacts. In addition, incorporating climate change awareness trainings into the existing extension packages is crucial to enhance the awareness of farmers on climate change and implement appropriate adaptation strategies. Moreover, it is very essential to provide appropriate herd management and marketing strategy based on the production system to avoid the significant price reduction during drought periods. Practical implications Concerned authorities working in CC related sectors should give due attention to improve smallholder farmers’ access to extension and veterinary services, market access and climate information to enhance their adaptive capacity to CC impacts. In addition, incorporating climate change awareness trainings into the existing extension packages is crucial to implement appropriate adaptation strategies. Moreover, it is very essential to provide appropriate herd management and marketing strategy based on the production system to avoid the significant price reduction during drought periods. Originality/value This research is focused on smallholder crop-livestock farmers, livestock-based CCASs and presents the determinant factors to their choice of adaptation.

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Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190063 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 723-729

Author(s):

Roslyn Gleadow ◽

Jim Hanan ◽

Alan Dorin

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Computer Simulation ◽

Food Security ◽

European Countries ◽

Plant Interactions ◽

Plant Insect Interactions ◽

Native Habitat ◽

Insect Pollinators ◽

Insect Interactions

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.

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Modelling ecosystem adaptation and dangerous rates of global warming

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20180113 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 221-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Rebecca Millington ◽

Peter M. Cox ◽

Jonathan R. Moore ◽

Gabriel Yvon-Durocher

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Warming ◽

Diffusion Rate ◽

Individual Species ◽

Genetic Evolution ◽

Rates Of Change ◽

Rapid Climate Change ◽

Warming Climate ◽

Intraspecies Competition ◽

High Trait

Abstract We are in a period of relatively rapid climate change. This poses challenges for individual species and threatens the ecosystem services that humanity relies upon. Temperature is a key stressor. In a warming climate, individual organisms may be able to shift their thermal optima through phenotypic plasticity. However, such plasticity is unlikely to be sufficient over the coming centuries. Resilience to warming will also depend on how fast the distribution of traits that define a species can adapt through other methods, in particular through redistribution of the abundance of variants within the population and through genetic evolution. In this paper, we use a simple theoretical ‘trait diffusion’ model to explore how the resilience of a given species to climate change depends on the initial trait diversity (biodiversity), the trait diffusion rate (mutation rate), and the lifetime of the organism. We estimate theoretical dangerous rates of continuous global warming that would exceed the ability of a species to adapt through trait diffusion, and therefore lead to a collapse in the overall productivity of the species. As the rate of adaptation through intraspecies competition and genetic evolution decreases with species lifetime, we find critical rates of change that also depend fundamentally on lifetime. Dangerous rates of warming vary from 1°C per lifetime (at low trait diffusion rate) to 8°C per lifetime (at high trait diffusion rate). We conclude that rapid climate change is liable to favour short-lived organisms (e.g. microbes) rather than longer-lived organisms (e.g. trees).

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