Australia National Registration Authority for Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (was RE: cats and diffused oils - a possible campaign)

[Guest guest]

Hi Catherine,

 

This is very interesting. Thanks for telling us about it!

 

Is this database ONLY for those treating animals in Australia, or is it

available for all animal practitioners all over the world to report

reactions they've encountered?

 

I've just begun to check out their web site in detail, and there is a

lot to absorb. What aspects of this are you hesitant to embrace (seems

that whenever a gov't body gets involved with something there are bound

to be some bad points)?

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

 

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

 

 

 

Catherine [happyhorses]

Thursday, January 15, 2004 12:36 AM

 

Re: cats and diffused oils - a possible

campaign

 

 

Jen

 

often seen your posts on other lists and know this is a 'pet'

subject of yours. Shame you are not in Australia. We are finally

getting organised here and holistic vets with animal natural

therapists now have a procedure we are encouraging others to be able

to report any adverse reactions to any natural therapy or essential

oil, herb etc with animals. Actually owners can also report

incidents of adverse reactions (and non effect as well).

 

The Australia National Registration Authority (NRA) for Agricultural

and Veterinary Chemicals now has facilities for us to voluntarily

report incidents though they have gone through a name change and now

call themselves the Australian Pesticides & Veterinary Medicines

Authority.

 

This will give you an idea anyway, so eventually there will be a

decent database

https://services.apvma.gov.au/AerpWebApp/Welcome.jsp

 

It is still a long way off from what you would like to see and some

of me likes the idea, another part of me is still hesitant to

embrace certain aspects.

 

For those in Australia and interested in working with animals, just

as an aside, natural therapy products marketed for animal use are

now going through a similar process we went through with the TGA a

few years ago where any product for use with animals needs to be

registered to be able to be sold on by a third party. (its been a

long day and not focused enough to go into the details).

 

regards

Catherine

Author ~ A Healthy Horse the Natural Way

http://www.catherinebird.com.au

Keep up to date with natural therapies for horses with our monthly

online newsletter at catherinebird/

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Arrrrggghhhhhhhh ... why did you ask this .....

 

I can't see why people from outside Australia could not comment.

 

Now ...

 

 

>I've just begun to check out their web site in detail, and there is a

>lot to absorb. What aspects of this are you hesitant to embrace (seems

>that whenever a gov't body gets involved with something there are bound

>to be some bad points)?

 

 

I can see where something like this is useful, however the ageing hippy

inside me does get concerned.

 

As a practitioner, I do not like seeing science fragment natural therapies

in order to either explain them or find a way to control them, they have a

way of then putting the fragments back together again with a very important

part missing. That part being the 'soul' or philosophy, or energetic aspect

that because of a patriarchal ignorance that permeates modern science, gets

dismissed or is bastardised to an extent that they in their research destroy

the validity of thousands of years. Wow that came out a little heavier than

I intended but I suppose it sums it up for me.

 

I do get tired of science claiming something doesn't work, just because they

haven't figured out a way to prove it does, and then in turn government

bodies using this ignorance to remove access to a wonderful herb. A tv

program here attacked homeopathy viciously last year, and worked really hard

to discount it as doing any good, and unfortunately the average person

watching it could easily have agreed with them. For me if I had been

presenting such an argument I would have been ashamed to display such

ignorance to a national audience.

 

Unfortunately because of the way our society is structured, this sort of

approach is accepted as " IT " and then used inappropriately.

 

HOWEVER, as rebellious as I am, I also get concerned when practitioners or

suppliers do not operate from the most ethical basis they can. I think it is

wonderful a company can introduce so many people to natural therapies,

however when such a company encourages unsafe practices that belong in the

realm of the therapist to the layperson who then misuses that information

and causes harm, the greed of the original company damages so many aspects

of the natural therapy industry. If for example everyone started reporting

an adverse reaction to YL's raindrop therapy, who eventually suffers? The

way YL is structured you can bet it is not going to be Gary Young. It is

going to be the people who use his techniques AND then I am afraid it will

also be anyone who uses an essential oil.

 

My concern is something like this reporting system could see too many

restrictions placed upon the use of a herb or essential oil that could see

some little twit in power make a law where none of us have legal access.

Now I have raised this issue with some of those involved with the policy

formation of this reporting system and structuring of this government body,

and they say that they want this system to dispel fear rather than engender

it. I think if the information is readily available so practitioners can

check if what they suspect is an adverse reaction in their own cases has

been reported before, great. BUT if the information is used against

practitioners then I will be distressed.

 

I am pretty heavily involved in the development of the use of natural

therapies with animals here in Australia and if I could live in my altruist

pink bubble and just operate in a way I consider that to be of a responsible

therapist, I would be in heaven. However, many of my cases now come to me

because of the actions of another practitioner (s). In the vet clinic I am

involved with for small animals, weekly !!! at the moment we have a run of

cats who were being treated homeopathically by distance for a condition that

results in kidney failure if not addressed appropriately, in each instance

the healer who has boosted this vets business has said to the owner/carer

" don't take your cat to a vet " and continued to send them remedies which in

most cases have added up to $300 (now homeopathics do not cost anywhere near

this), without wishing to sound harsh, but this therapist is basically

murdering these cats that don't get medical care. I often inherit horses

where other therapists have incorrectly diagnosed (yes we are not supposed

to) the condition, and finally the horse has found its way to a vet to find

the real issue. Now part of this is because they have had bad experiences

with vets and they can be a hard bunch to deal with (much like some old

school doctors), but from my experience, if I show the vets I am not a

ratbag twit and show them a professional respect, they are only human and

usually meet me at some point.

 

Now it is not my place to " police " this, but where is my responsibility. Due

to legal issues, the associations these practitioners belong to are unable

to do much and these people tend to be very loud with their opinions so end

up holding committee positions (similar to what we have seen with NAHA) and

they then become so protective and paranoid that no one wins. The animal and

it's human are the ones to suffer. Now I don't want an outsider like a vet

board or another government body stop what I love doing and I hope do well,

because of the actions of foolish egocentric idiots (hmmm judgement I

suppose) ... and all I can do is stay within my own boundaries and ethics

hoping that maybe some of these idiots realise they are dangerous and go get

an office job.

 

 

Dear me it is Saturday morning and I have given myself the morning off to

muse and catch up with emails before a massage for me so I think I answered

your question, but I have also vented rather self indulgently and may read

this when it hits the digest and cringe. Time for another coffee me thinks.

 

So yes I see this filling a need, but I also fear how its original purpose

may later be used.

 

Catherine

 

 

Author ~ A Healthy Horse the Natural Way

http://www.catherinebird.com.au

Keep up to date with natural therapies for horses with our monthly online

newsletter at catherinebird/

 

 

 

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