Syn Alia Articles - Holistic Animal Management

Holistic Animal Management

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BIO
About Dr. Michael Meredith
Dr. Michael Meredith is a veterinary surgeon in Cambridgeshire, England, who wears many hats. He is director of the Pig Disease Information Center (see Newsletter for additional information), an information technology specialist, has a physiology degree from the University of London, where he also trained as a veterinarian. He worked in a veterinary practice in Humberside, Yorkshire. He obtained an MA from the University of Cambridge, where he also lectured in Clinical Veterinary Medicine (to veterinary students). For nine months he worked chronicling the FMD outbreak and ameliorative and containment efforts. The turbulence and suffering associated with these events helped set Dr. Meredith's sights on holistic healing for people and animals (see his sites for stress counseling and healing).

HOLISTIC HEATH MANAGEMENT ARTICLE:

Pig Disease Information Centre UK wrote:

Health Promotion - Nurturing the Life Force
November 2002 - copyright Michael Meredith

"Disease treatment" and "Disease prevention" are two well-established paradigms of veterinary activity. "Health promotion" is less well established as a part of farm animal health mores. In the human health field, by contrast, increasingly large budgets are being deployed in the implementation and research of "Health promotion".

The World Health Organization has been at the forefront of changing attitudes to health from the earlier negative perspective of "absence of disease" to the more modern view (WHO, 1984) that "Health is a resource...a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources as well as physical capacities."

In veterinary medicine we are well aware of the importance of physical health, but what about "social and personal resources" (also known as "well-being", "wellness" or "will to live")?

The view has been frequently expressed that if an animal is "performing well" in terms of growth or fertility, then its "well-being" must be okay. However, in human beings and in pet animals, we know that reduced vitality, mild depression and emotional deprivation can all lead to nutritional over-indulgence, reduced activity and impressive weight gain. Stressful situations can lead to enhanced reproductive activity also.

If we cannot deny the existence of extra-physical "well-being", what is the practical significance of it to swine health and production?
Mostly "well-being" has become the territory of "Animal welfare" and has been viewed predominantly from a moral and humane perspective. However, a Cambridge University (UK) conference recently highlighted the practical health implications of "well-being" and the increasingly popular models of "holistic" healthcare.

"Holistic" healthcare is often associated with "alternative" or "complementary" technologies such as homeopathy, herbalism or acupuncture. However the Cambridge conference was devoted to holistic healthcare within the framework of conventional medicine. One of the principal speakers was Philadelphia surgeon Michael Torosian, who reviewed the extensive literature evidencing the significant impact of social and personal "well-being" factors on human illnesses.

The "holistic" approach to healthcare is commonly summarized as addressing the individual on three levels: mind, body and spirit. The "body" aspect is of course prominently considered in veterinary education and mental functionality is assessed via the science of animal behavior and the intuitive skill of the stockperson. "Spirit" or "life-force" is a more elusive concept in veterinary medicine, although most veterinarians readily acknowledge some of the practical expressions of spirit such as "vitality" and "the will to live".

Many hog producers are already conscious of the key role that "spiritual" factors play in the health of pigs. For example, "hospital" pens are widely used to provide sick individuals with respite from competitive and hostile social experiences. Similarly, the vitality-enhancing property of straw for hogs is quite legendary, keying into the powerful instinctual drive of swine for exploration and rooting.

From a more evidence-based perspective, we have the pioneering work of Paul Hemsworth and his group in Australia showing how the interaction and quality of relationship between stockperson and pigs can have key implications for vitality and production parameters.

ARTICLE LINK to Pig blood draw:
http://www.aasv.org/news/story.php?id=360
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Pig Disease Information Centre UK
Email: pdic@btclick.com Website: www.pighealth.com
Members of AHIS (Animal Health Information Specialists) UK & Ireland
PDIC NEWSLETTER (for your enjoyment go to the website to view)
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