Veterinary civil action programs in Afghanistan: pros, cons, and how

Veterinary civic action programs (VETCAPs) are short-term clinics that are conducted by military veterinarians to treat the local livestock. They are used successfully by military commanders and provincial reconstruction team leaders to prepare the battlefield for further engagements. Hundreds of VETCAPs have been conducted in Afghanistan since 2001. However, veterinary-focused, nongovernmental organizations working in Afghanistan contend that these programs decrease the sustainability of the veterinary infrastructure throughout the country. This paper presents a study conducted from March 2006 through February 2007 which seeks to quantify the effect of veterinary civic action programs on the local veterinary infrastructure in Afghanistan, and determine ways in which the military objective may be obtained while causing least damage to the veterinary infrastructure.