A System Approach to Managing Animal Health in Canada

Understanding the Factors Influencing Animal Health and the Process Leading to a National Animal Health Strategy for Canada

Table of Contents

Changing Global Environment

• Climate Change
• Population Change
• Globalization
• Advances in Science and Technology

Until the advent of the modern era some five centuries ago, the interactions of human populations with environmental systems occurred mainly on a localized scale; the size and technological capabilities of human populations effectively limited their capacities to alter natural systems on a global level. But the acceleration of technological process since the dawn of the industrial age has greatly enhanced humanity’s reach – to the extent that the human race may now be both the greatest perpetrator and victim of global environmental change.

In many respects, the urgent environmental and health issues confronting humanity on the frontier of the twenty-first century are the same as those it has always faced: epidemic disease, resource limitations, poverty, affluence, and the unintended consequences of new technologies.  It is principally the scale and complexities of the problems that have grown and changed across time.1

For the first time in geological history, humanity has changed the earth’s environment on a global scale.2  Such changes and their effects on animal health constitute a growing challenge to scientists, public and animal health professionals, conservation biologists, ecologists, policymakers, governments, and individual citizens to understand the dynamic interactions between natural and human-induced changes on our ecosystems and how they place new and increasing stress on the health of our animal populations.  Without this understanding and respect, the sustainable use of our animal resources may be at risk.  

Figure 1 outlines a conceptual model of the global drivers and determinants that affect the health of animals in Canada.  Globalization, population change, advances in science and technology and climate change, directly and indirectly affect the importance of determinants i.e. their magnitude and frequency, which in turn impact on the health of animals.  Determinants such as the changes in ecosystems, the nature of animal-human interactions, the presence of pathogens, parasites and contaminants in ecosystems, the evolution and importance of information and knowledge, and the socio-economic conditions refer to specific features of our country that affect animal health and that can potentially be altered by informed trigger or action.3  

Figure 1 - A conceptual model describing the global drivers and determinants of animal health in Canada [D]