About the AHV
Australian Holistic Veterinarians (AHV) is a veterinary group with over 65 members Australia wide. Our members are veterinarians who use, or have an interest in, one or more alternative or complementary therapies which they use in combination with conventional veterinary training and techniques to treat animals.
The aim of this SIG is to foster the use of complementary and alternative therapies in a caring and professional manner in order to benefit the health of animals, and to render a positive image of holistic animal care in the general community. It also aims to integrate these therapies into well chosen pharmaceutical and surgical regimes.
These therapies provide treatment options for animals presented to veterinarians, which may avoid unnecessary pain, side-effects from drugs, complications from surgery and allow reduction in the use of antibiotics and other drugs which can contaminate human food of animal derivation. These therapies, in certain instances, can provide means by which disease and dysfunction may be treated that could not have been effectively addressed by conventional veterinary medicine and surgery. They can amplify the benefits of routine pharmaceutical medicines.
We believe it is important that knowledge of these therapies becomes part of veterinary students education so that veterinarians know at least as much as their clients do of these therapies, and can provide the owner with the full range of treatment options for their animal's disease or condition.
The following natural therapies are commonly used on animals. There are many not listed here. Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Homeopathy, Herbal Medicine, Homotoxicology, and Nutraceuticals. For more information on these therapies use the buttons on the home page.
The AHV library, the Toni Werchon book trust, contains historic and modern books which can be borrowed by Veterinarians for cost of postage and return. It is run by Cathie Harvey SA.
The University of Queensland Integrative Veterinary Medicine (UQIVM) is a Special Interest Group (SIG) under the University of Queensland Veterinary Students Association. Website http://uqivm.wordpress.com/ and e-mail address uqivmsig@gmail.com. Many of its members are student members of the AHV.