A briefing for Members of Congress and their staff on the need to pass the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA), hosted by the Animal Welfare Institute, the ASPCA, and The Humane Society of the United States. A veterinarian and farmers will discuss the negative impacts of the misuse of antibiotics on animals and the need for action.
WHO:
Michael Blackwell, DVM, MPH: Previously dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee; deputy director for the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine; vice chair of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production; chief of staff of the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States; and a veterinarian in private practice, Blackwell is president and CEO of Blackwell Consulting, LLC and administrator of the Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
Will Witherspoon: Linebacker for the Tennessee Titans. Witherspoon raises grass-fed cattle at the Shire Gate Farm, an Animal Welfare Approved certified farm, using sustainable techniques that nearly eliminate the need for antibiotics.
Frank Reese: Raises heritage poultry on pasture in Kansas as part of the Good Shepherd Poultry Ranch cooperative. Reese does not administer sub-therapeutic antibiotics.
WHEN:
Tuesday, July 24, 2012; 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
WHERE:
The United States Capitol Visitor Center
Meeting Room South
East Capitol Street, NE and 1st Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002
Background:
An estimated 80 percent of all antimicrobials sold in the United States today are being used to counteract the consequences of confining farm animals in overcrowded, stressful and unsanitary conditions, as well as to speed the animals’ growth. A direct link has been demonstrated between this use and the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria “superbugs” that affect the health of both animals and people.
The Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA) was introduced in the House by Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-NY, Congress’s only microbiologist, and in the Senate by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Susan Collins, R-Maine. PAMTA would phase out the routine non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in farm animals to promote growth and prevent diseases associated with poor animal husbandry systems, in order to maintain the effectiveness of these drugs for treating sick people and animals.
Honorary Hosts: Reps. Louise Slaughter, D-NY, and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.