The AVMA American Board of Veterinary Specialties wants to hear from members of the public and those in the veterinary and sheltering fields about a proposed new specialty in veterinary medicine.

The new specialty, which would be under the purview of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, has been in development since 2005. From the Association of Shelter Veterinarians website:

In order to control infectious disease and promote health and wellness in shelter populations, Shelter Medicine specialists must have an expanded understanding of shelter facility design and operation; husbandry (including population level housing, nutrition, sanitation and behavioral care); resource management and risk analysis. Beyond a conventional veterinary education, success in this field requires a strong background in areas such as epidemiology, statistics, companion animal population management, immunology, infectious disease, animal behavior, public health and veterinary forensics.

Signed comments on the proposed specialty should be sent to David Banasiak, AVMA Education and Research Division, 1931 N. Meacham Road, Suite 100, Schaumburg, IL 60173- 4360, or via e-mail to dbanasiak@avma.org. If you have questions, you can contact Banasiak by e-mail or by phone at 800-248-2862, Ext. 6677.

More information on the proposed shelter medicine specialty, along with a timeline of its development and a link to the full text of the proposal can be found here.