Companion Animal Vaccination: Welfare Through Prevention

Vaccination is one of the most effective welfare interventions available for companion animals, preventing infectious diseases that cause significant suffering and death.

Key Facts

Core vaccines for dogs include distemper, parvovirus, and adenovirus; for cats, herpesvirus and calicivirus
Parvovirus causes severe gastrointestinal disease with high mortality in unvaccinated dogs
Titre testing allows antibody levels to be measured, potentially reducing unnecessary booster frequency
Vaccine reaction rates are low but real; most are mild and short-lived
Cost is a major barrier to vaccination in lower-income communities and globally in working animal populations

Welfare Considerations

Vaccination is preventive medicine that saves animals from severe, often fatal infectious diseases. The suffering caused by parvovirus, distemper, or feline panleukopenia is significant and largely preventable. From a welfare perspective, ensuring companion animals receive appropriate vaccination is one of the highest-impact individual actions available to owners. Evidence-based vaccination protocols — distinguishing core from non-core vaccines, using titre testing to avoid unnecessary boosters — maximise protection while minimising unnecessary intervention. Vaccination access is a welfare equity issue: working animals in low-income countries, stray dog populations, and pets of owners facing financial hardship often go unvaccinated with substantial individual and community welfare consequences.

What You Can Do

Keep vaccinations current according to evidence-based protocols from your veterinary practice
Ask your vet about titre testing as an alternative to automatic annual boosters for some diseases
Support community vaccination programmes for stray dog populations
Donate to organisations providing low-cost vaccination services in under-resourced communities
Advocate for vaccination to be included in companion animal welfare standards globally