NOAH issues new blueprint for animal health and welfare

NOAH has launched its new three-step blueprint to encourage responsible animal health and welfare across the UK.

The campaign will kick off with the release of a new infographic outlining how good animal health is an essential component of good animal welfare. It forms part of NOAH’s ongoing work to show what animal health looks like through a variety of lenses, experts and stories.

The blueprint recognises that keeping animals healthy is our collective responsibility and aims to encourage the animal medicines industry, veterinary surgeons, farmers and pet owners to work together closely in order to:

• STOP disease getting into the animal
• EQUIP animals to fight disease if they do encounter it
• TREAT animals appropriately when sickness is unavoidable

These three steps encompass the full spectrum of animal health, from reducing the risk of exposure to infectious diseases, taking preventative healthcare measures and prescribing appropriate treatments, including antibiotics, in case of illness.

Over the coming months, the campaign will see NOAH targeting distinct audiences, from farmers and vets to government and industry stakeholders through to pet owners, with a series of educational materials designed to help them understand the unique role they have to play when it comes to overall animal health and welfare.

NOAH chief executive, Dawn Howard, said: “A collaborative, comprehensive approach to animal health is absolutely vital to ensure animals across the UK are happy and healthy. Our new blueprint is a guide for all those who touch animals’ lives, and over the coming months we will be providing even more resources to inform and encourage responsible animal health and welfare.”