What is going on at the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)?

The lack of awareness and professionalism coming from this organization is becoming impossible to ignore.

Here are just some of the mounting concerns:

• A president publicly endorsing shock collars contradicting AVMA’s own stance, the global behavior science consensus, and basic animal-welfare principles.

• A refusal to acknowledge the One Health catastrophes in Gaza, Sudan, and Congo, even while claiming One Health as a core value.

• Silence on the disappearance and killing of Dr. Mu’ath Abu Rukba, one of Gaza’s last surgical veterinarians (see previous episodes of this podcast for the full story!)

• Routine deletion, hiding, and restriction of comments from members and the public raising legitimate concerns, and censorship of their own members and speakers within annual conferences.

• Posting trivial “awareness” content while ignoring mass suffering of humans, animals, and entire ecosystems.

• A PAC aligned with lawmakers who support militarism, environmental destruction, and policies directly harmful to people and animals.

• A documented history of systemic issues, including the controversy with Tuskegee University, the primary producer of Black veterinarians.

This is dysfunction, denial, and dereliction of duty. @avmavets appears disorganized, unaware, and unprofessional at a moment when moral clarity is needed most.

Why is a dog trainer on the internet having to point out the hypocrisy and misinformation of the world’s largest veterinary medical association?

If it’s on me, and all of us, to hold this organization accountable, then something is profoundly wrong inside that institution.

This is about restoring truth, ethics, and public trust in a profession that desperately needs it.

Veterinarians and the public deserve better leadership than this.