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Full Version: OMG, people really are anti-vaxxing their pets (UK)
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https://gizmodo.com/oh-god-people-really...1837911456

EXCERPT: A new report from the UK seems to confirm vets’ worst fears, suggesting that pet vaccination rates in the country have dropped off substantially in recent years.

Veterinarians have been desperately reminding everyone that vaccines are safe and won’t give pets autism (seriously). But it wasn’t entirely clear if pet owners really were shying away from vaccines. The new report comes courtesy of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, which claims to be the UK’s leading veterinary charity. Since 2011, the PDSA has carried out an annual survey of pet owners in the country, dubbed the PDSA Animal Wellbeing, or PAW, report...

[...] There’s no direct evidence in the survey that pet owners are buying into the propaganda spouted by the anti-vaccination movement ... The most commonly stated reasons for not vaccinating were that it was too expensive or that their pets never interacted with other animals (both 17 percent); 10 percent said they had simply never gotten around to it. But there’s definitely some reason to think vaccine hysteria might be playing a role...

[...] In the UK at least, lower levels of pet vaccination seem to track with reported decreases in rates of childhood vaccination in people. ... Of course, our pets need vaccines every bit as much as we do. A dog isn’t smart enough to understand the value of preventative healthcare—but its owner really should be. (MORE)