Page 6 - Spring 16

IAVH Newsletter
Dear Colleagues,
There are two subjects in this newsletter: the new EU regulation for veterinary medicine and the ECH congress.
The EU Veterinary Medicines Regulation
This week the EU parliament voted on the new Regulation for Veterinary Medicines (COM (2014) 558). Since August 2015, the EU regulation subcommittee of the IAVH has been working on making sure that this new regulation would deal in an efficient way with unitary homeopathic remedies.
In the proposal that was going through the various stages of the EU machinations, homeopathic remedies were referred to as Veterinary Homeopathic Remedies. The characterisation of naming the homeopathic remedies to be used on animals as being Veterinary would have made it almost impossible to continue to make veterinary prescriptions using unitary homeopathic medicines prepared for use in humans.
In the last hour we were heard and Martin Hausling MEP made a clever proposal that we could defend. The last week before the vote we contacted numerous MEPs with the results that the changes proposed by Martin Hausling were accepted by the EU parliament.
It now states clearly in the new Veterinary Medicines Regulation that we can use the medicines prepared for use in humans to make veterinary prescriptions.
The new regulation still needs to be examined by the Council (Meeting of all the EU national bodies responsible for the regulation of veterinary medicines). There the decision will be made in about one year.
We will keep our finger on the pulse to see, whether we will need to interfere at this level in order to safeguard the changes that were accepted by parliament. We will/may need your help once again with getting in contact with your national bodies representing the national ministries.
We have learned that elected members of parliament who have links to these organisations are your best contacts. Explain to them that the nomination Veterinary Homeopathic Medicines has no meaning, when it comes to unitary remedies. The nomination Veterinary homeopathic medicines shall be applied to complex medicines, which are put on the market with a veterinary indication. There are provisions for their regulation in the new EU Veterinary Medicines regulation.
It is really the difference between these two: with and without veterinary indication that has to be pointed out to the national
organisations and members of parliament. Every time we managed to explain this to the people we contacted, they came to be in favour of the improved regulation of unitary homeopathic remedies.
The IAVH subcommittee for EU regulation:
Petra, Barbara, Liesbeth, Edward
The ECH Congress 2016
You have been receiving monthly newsletters from the organisers of the ECH congress, which takes place in Vienna in November 2016 and is organised in cooperation with the IAVH. The board decided to send out this extra letter drawing your attention to the importance of this congress.
We have the opportunity to invite all our members (from Europe and beyond) to a high quality congress of which we are part organisers. We can do this without taking any financial risk to the IAVH. If it turns out to be a success, in 2018 the ECH will organise their next conference, together with the IAVH, and then it is likely that we will be able to benefit from any financial gain from this congress.
It is important to keep close relations with our colleagues, who treat people. We have so much to learn from each other. Continuing to learn and progress in homeopathy is a duty we have to our patients and also for the future of homeopathic medicine. Lively and rich exchanges are essential for the progress of the practice of homeopathy and the recognition of homeopathy. In the congress-program time is set aside for the political and scientific aspect of the promotion of homeopathy with invited scientists, politicians and regulators.
The subcommittee has worked hard to make sure that the IAVH was taken seriously. The ECH was not expecting this to be so. To make it a real success we now need to ensure the enthusiast participation of vets. Please make time to attend in November (17, 18, 19 November 2016). We also need colleagues who submit their veterinary presentations. To make sure it is a real vet/doctor congress there need to be presentations by both groups. You can visit the ECH website for more information. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. http://www.homeopathycongress.eu/2016/
Hoping for your enthusiasm.
The Subcommittee for the ECH congress: Stefan, Petra, Gabi and Edward
The following are the opinions of some of your colleagues in relation to this congress.
Malene Jørgensen (France)
Since 1996 I have used homeopathy for animals in my daily work as a veterinary surgeon. And during this time I have benefitted from participating in CPD events – both veterinary but also events for doctors alone or mixed. The Faculty of Homeopathy, the professional organ for homeopathic professionals in the UK, has a yearly congress, which is open for all professionals, doctors, vets, dentists, etc. It is a very inspiring environment to be in and as a vet I think I learn a lot from these mixed events. Please consider seriously participating in the ECH congress in Vienna this year. The inspiration and energy these events give cannot be obtained any other way and you will realise that doctors and vets are literally on the same page. So please come!
Geoff Johnson (UK)
Humans and mammals are affected by the same stresses, develop similar diseases, and respond identically to the correct remedy. Human cases help vets to understand the emotional state of remedies. Animal cases enable doctors to see the uncompensated energy of a remedy state. We both have much to learn from each other, including how very similar we are to our companions on earth.
Don Hamilton, DVM (USA)
Author of Homeopathic Care for Cats and Dogs: Small Doses for Small Animals:
Homeopathic medicine is a wonderful and sometimes difficult medicine. We face many challenges, from finding the best remedies for our patients, to attacks from critics, and to isolation sometimes because we practice this exciting but "different" therapy. As such, attending educational meetings can help with all of these aspects, and the IAVH/ECH congress in Vienna is an exciting opportunity to meet with not only veterinary colleagues, but also our human medical colleagues. I have studied a lot with those who treat humans over my three decades of homeopathic study and practice, and I always learn new and interesting approaches. The different prospects of treating humans may seem not relevant to veterinary work, but in many ways these methods open doors in our minds to new ways to think about our animal cases. Also, our human colleagues face many of the same challenges as we do in their practices. If we join together rather than remaining separate, this can only help us, our patients, and the world we live in. Please join your colleagues from all over the world to make this congress something to remember.
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