Asked by: David Tredinnick (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has any evidence which shows that homeopathic vets are a risk to animal welfare by using homeopathy as an alternative treatment to pharmaceutical treatment options.
Answered by George Eustice
The Department does not have any evidence that shows that homeopathic vets are a risk to animal welfare by using homeopathy as an alternative treatment to conventional medicine options.
It should be noted that ‘conventional’ medicines are required to be licensed by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate. Such products will have undergone clinical trials before receiving a market authorisation – this covers efficacy, safety and an assessment of risks versus benefits. Some homeopathic remedies are registered under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations. However, this is a very different process and such products do not undergo the same detailed evaluation – notably efficacy is not considered.
Asked by: David Tredinnick (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what studies the Government has undertaken to establish the extent to which common veterinary practice is evidence-based.
Answered by George Eustice
Clinical governance is a requirement for all veterinary surgeons, under the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons’ Code of Professional Conduct which can be found here: https://www.rcvs.org.uk/setting-standards/advice-and-guidance/code-of-professional-conduct-for-veterinary-surgeons/
Clinical governance may include critically analysing the evidence base for procedures used and making appropriate changes to practice, which falls directly under the principles of evidence based veterinary medicine. In order to be considered fit to practice, veterinary practitioners hold the responsibility to ground their decisions on sound, objective and up to date evidence, when available.