At the same time, this virtual landscape is littered with misleading and false information that misrepresents and twists the facts to fit all kinds of beliefs, dogmas, and points of view. It is important to have your “thinking cap” on when navigating these sometimes turbulent waters searching for the good stuff- especially when it come to important matters such as medicine.
This brings me to the core of the issue. When it comes to health we are obligated to tread with great care. Medical therapies need to go through a rigorous and continual process that works to keep them “honest”. Therapies in veterinary medicine also have to pass this all important prerequisite. They need to be vetted and put through the filter of scientific methodology- the best tool we have for holding on to and refining that which works while being able to disregard what doesn’t.
This is becoming ever more critical in this -what many would call- an “anti-enlightenment” era of confusion and non-science based pressures which threaten to dilute true medicine with delusional practices and magical thinking- even if they seem well meaning.
The veterinary e-world reflects this frustrating situation especially with respect to Complementary, Alternative or Integrative Veterinary Medicine (CAIVM) where one can find a sea of promotional and apologetic sites supporting its use, but precious little in the way of balanced resources that evaluate them critically. The often over the top claims by CAIVM proponents needs to be tempered with a good dose of science and skepticism of which there is precious little of.
In that regard, Vetskeptics endeavors to provide a haven for those interested in reason and critical thought from where CAIVM or -for that matter- any veterinary topic can be considered and discussed with the goal of open and honest inquiry. There are some excellent veterinary resources that support this goal and I will continually add to our link list as I- and you- discover them.
Initially, Vetskeptics will serve as a concentrated repository for several veterinary topics I have written about in the Wanderingprimate blog site which is developing a broader topic range. I plan to review many of these posts and improve on them here, while others will be archived here for better referencing.
Another goal for Vetskeptics is to encourage and promote new work and posts from various authors. Whether you are a veterinarian, veterinary technician, animal care giver or animal lover this blog is interested in quality writing that will improve on and add to what’s here.
It is our hope that this blog will become one of a growing number of voices that promote science and evidenced based veterinary medicine. With your continued help it can become an ever better critical thinking oasis for the veterinary and animal care community.
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