Anti-vaxxers are moving from not vaccinating children into creating false accusations that pet vaccines will likely led their dogs become autistic, according to the Telegraph.
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has since replied to the issue and clarified that dogs cannot get autism, especially not from vaccines.
“’Anti-vaxxers’ believe that immunizations have harmful side effects and may be the cause of autism in children – beliefs widely debunked by the medical community,” said BVA in a statement. “This theory is increasingly being applied to pets, particularly in the US, and there are fears it is spreading to the UK and could cause already low vaccination rates to fall.”
The issue even gained the attention of Good Morning Britain, a morning show, which tweeted a request for individuals who believe in the theory to ask about the new trend for further discussion.
“While we welcome a platform for pet owners to discuss vaccinations, we’d be concerned about the adverse impact on pet health resulting from such alarm such a show is likely to cause amongst pet owners if it does not offer a veterinary or scientific voice for a balanced perspective on the issue,” stated BVA after Good Morning Britain’s tweet.
BVA said the PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report in 2017 showed a drastic decrease in pet vaccination rates. 25 percent of dogs, 35 percent of cats and 50 percent of rabbits haven’t had any primary vaccination – which is terribly alarming.
