A petition has been launched on the public initiative portal Manabalss.lv calling for the creation of a 24-hour emergency veterinary care system in Latvia, funded by the state.
Diana Mosure is named as the representative of the initiative. She explains that due to the absence of such a system at night, on weekends, and on holidays, timely veterinary assistance is unavailable to pet owners in many regions of Latvia.
Often, the nearest clinic is several hours away, which poses a threat to the life and health of animals in acute situations. "Currently, the emergency veterinary service relies entirely on private initiative, without participation and support from the state, resulting in unequal access to assistance. This approach does not align with the interests of society in the area of animal welfare," the author of the initiative believes.
Mosure proposes to introduce relevant amendments to the Animal Protection Law, as well as to the regulations governing veterinary medicine.
Such a system, which could be established as a result, might include fully or partially state-funded on-call services, regional emergency veterinary care centers, agreements with private clinics, compensation for night shifts, or other solutions ensuring timely assistance "at a reasonable distance" in all regions of Latvia.
According to Mosure, the responsible state authorities, in collaboration with industry specialists, could develop a specific model of the system taking into account the capabilities of the industry and regional needs. She has not calculated the cost of such a system.
Furthermore, the initiator reports that the Daugavpils municipality informed her in an official response that regulatory provisions do not allow municipalities to organize or fund round-the-clock veterinary assistance, thus the problem cannot be resolved at the municipal level.
