AVMA Blocks AVAR from Exhibiting at Convention Group Questions Legality of DecisionDogs and Cats Arrive at LAX AirportFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Davis, CA (June 20, 2005) -- The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has denied a request from the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR) to exhibit at the group’s upcoming annual convention in Minneapolis. The negative decision was issued despite the fact that AVAR has had an exhibit booth at the AVMA annual convention for more than a decade and despite the fact that nearly 80 percent of AVAR veterinary members are also AVMA members. In notifying AVAR of the decision in a certified letter, the AVMA states that it has established a new policy for reviewing exhibitor applications. Among the criteria are: value to the association’s overall membership, previous years of participation at the AVMA meeting; and messages espousing philosophies or practices contrary to policies and position statements of the AVMA. “Given our longstanding history of professional participation in the AVMA convention, it appears that they have decided to ban us from the exhibit hall because we don’t see eye-to-eye on certain animal welfare issues,” said AVAR President Paula Kislak, DVM. “It’s a shame that they are trying to squelch debate on these important issues, particularly since the AVMA claims to be reorganizing specifically to discuss and address animal welfare concerns.” AVAR was approved for a booth at the 2004 convention, and had already sent exhibit materials from California to Philadelphia, when AVMA decided to ban AVAR with less than three weeks before the event. The decision came shortly after AVAR signed on to an advertisement, published in The New York Times, which criticized the AVMA for the group’s refusal to take a stand against the use of cramped gestation crates for pregnant sows, the forced molting (starvation) of hens, and the confinement of milk-fed calves in restrictive crates to produce veal. The AVMA has since approved a resolution stating that it does not support withholding food and water from hens used by the egg industry to force them into a molt, but its position on the other two issues addressed in the ad remains unchanged. AVAR has sent a letter to the AVMA asking the organization to explain in more detail which philosophies or practices caused the group to deny the AVAR exhibit. AVAR has also asked AVMA to reconsider the decision. In the meantime, AVAR is seeking legal advice regarding its members’ rights, who are also AVMA members, to exhibit at the convention. Other animal protection organizations have been approved for a booth at the 2005 convention. |
