CVMA and California veterinarians clash over blood banksApril 4, 2019A showdown is brewing between the California Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) and a group of veterinarians over whether closed-colony blood banks should continue to operate. Known as the California Pet Blood Bank Modernization Act, AB 366 bill is aimed at changing the existing law requiring animal blood banks collect blood exclusively from so-called "closed colonies." Critics say donor animals are confined to cages and kennels for months or years. Instead, the bill looks to allow blood banks to collect animal blood in a community-based, voluntary setting, similar to programs in place in other states. The bill is getting support from 72 veterinarians, including practitioners and medical directors at some of California's largest veterinary hospitals, and faculty and clinicians at the University of California, Davis. "The current situation in California is egregiously unbalanced," they say in a letter to California's assembly agriculture committee. "Hundreds of dogs—including many who have already endured months or years of suffering in the greyhound racing industry—are kept confined for months or years in situations that range from inadequate to appalling. Lack of sufficient oversight and inspection, coupled with a lack of transparency, has resulted in years of suffering by dogs in California's closed colonies. There …
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