Blaise Veterinary Referral Hospital in Birmingham is holding a free orthopaedic case discussion evening on Tuesday 23rd April. 

ECVS and RCVS Small Animal Surgery Specialist Vassilis Chantziaras (pictured) will lead the event, where attendees will be able to deepen their understanding of both common and unusual orthopaedic conditions.

The session will be split into a case review where delegates will discuss the presented cases in small groups, followed by a case presentation and group discussion led by Vassilis.

Andrew Kent, Clinical Director at Blaise, said: “We’re privileged to have such an incredible team here at Blaise and it’s important that they are able to share their expertise and knowledge for others to learn from and grow their own careers.

"We have many more learning and development opportunities and events in the pipeline and look forward to welcoming our veterinary industry colleagues to our hospital.”

www.ivcevidensiareferrals.com/events-and-cpd

Purina has announced a programme of support for StreetVet, the UK charity providing veterinary care and services for homeless people, after the charity saw an increase of over 300% in the demand for its services between 2022 and 2023.

StreetVet won over £70,000 worth of funding through Purina's Better with Pets prize in 2021 and 2023.  

In addition, the company is donating therapeutic and maintenance petfood free of charge, and will be supporting new projects in 2024.

Purina has also published a podcast in which Libby Sheridan, Veterinary Scientific Affairs Manager sat down with Jade Statt, co-founder of StreetVet (pictured), to talk about the work of the charity: https://open.spotify.com/episode/44O5ax83xay3Ht8l02MJPf, and how veterinary professionals benefit from volunteering to work with it.

Jade said: “Volunteering and giving back is incredibly gratifying but it’s more than that…you’re able to just be a vet or a nurse helping a pet and their human. People tell us it helps them remember why they wanted to do the job in the first place.”

https://www.streetvet.co.uk

Hampshire-based Robert Russell has been struck off by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee after he was convicted of possessing indecent images of children and extreme animal abuse.

Dr Russell, 64, who waived his right to attend the hearing, was convicted in 2023 of three offences: making indecent photographs of a child, possessing 2,280 prohibited images of a child and possessing 109 extreme pornographic images that included moving images that were grossly offensive.

After pleading guilty to making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child, and possessing extreme pornographic image/images portraying sexual acts with an animal, Dr Russell was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court to a two-year community order, a 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, 150 hours of community service and a forfeiture and destruction order of Seagate Drive, Toshiba hard drive and Lenovo tablet.

In addition, he was required to register with the police for 5 years and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years.

He was also required to pay prosecution costs of £425 and £60 victim surcharge.

Counsel for the College submitted to the Disciplinary Committee that the nature and circumstances of the offences rendered Dr Russell unfit to practise as a veterinary surgeon.

The Committee considered there to be several aggravating factors including, actual (albeit indirect) injury to an animal or child; the risk of harm to an animal or child; sexual misconduct; premeditated conduct; and, that the offences involved vulnerable children and animals.  

Neil Slater, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee has reached the conclusion that Dr Russell’s behaviour is fundamentally incompatible with being a veterinary surgeon, namely grave offences of a sexual nature.

"Dr Russell’s behaviour was so serious that removal of professional status and the rights and privileges accorded to that status is considered to be the only means of protecting the wider public interest and of maintaining confidence in the profession.

“The Committee has not taken this decision lightly, and, lest it be misinterpreted, it has not taken it in order to satisfy any notional public demand for blame and punishment.

"It has taken the decision because, in its judgment, the reputation of the profession has to be at the forefront of its thinking and ultimately this is more important than the interests of Dr Russell.

"The decision is not simply based on the fact that these offences were of a sexual nature but because they were repeated over a significant period of time and at a time when Dr Russell must have known, on his own plea of guilty, that what he was doing was wrong.

"Further, the Committee can discern no evidence that Dr Russell has insight into the gravity of the offence he has committed.

"The Committee has therefore directed the Registrar to remove his name from the Register forthwith.”

Dr Russell has 28 days from being notified of his removal from the Register to lodge an appeal with Privy Council.

Virbac has launched Pyoderm, an anti-bacterial and anti-fungal dermatological shampoo for dogs and cats.

Containing 3% m/v Chlorhexidine, Pyoderm is designed to support the natural microbial balance of the skin whilst delivering gentle yet effective cleansing.

Along with the rest of Virbac's range of dermatological and everyday care shampoos, Pyoderm is presented in 250ml eco-friendly bottles which are made from 100% recycled plastic and recyclable packaging.

The shampoos themselves are also biodegradable. 

https://uk.virbac.com/

The BSAVA has published a series of client information leaflets about the care and welfare of reptile species most commonly kept in the UK.

Data for 2023 from UK Pet Food research found that around 5% of UK households own a reptile, up from 3.4% in 2022.

The new leaflets have been created using information from the BSAVA Manual of Reptiles and reviewed by Simon Girling, reptile specialist at The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

They cover things like housing, feeding, handling, medication and spotting health concerns, and are now available for veterinary surgeons to download and print out for clients thinking about getting a reptile.

There are currently leaflets for the following species:

• Bearded dragons
• Crested geckos
• Leopard geckos
• Iguanas
• Snakes
• Tortoises
• Terrapins 

BSAVA members can download the leaflets free from the BSAVA library.  

Subscription access for 12 months to BSAVA’s collection of over 170 client information leaflets is available to non-members for £40+VAT here.

CVS Group reports that over the past week, its UK operations have been significantly disrupted after a number of its IT systems were hacked.

The company says that as soon as it discovered the unauthorised external access to its systems, it took them offline and started working to contain the threat. 

Specialist third party consultants have been engaged to investigate the nature and extent of the incident and CVS has also informed the relevant authorities, including the Information Commissioner’s Office, because of the risk of malicious access to personal information. 

The company says the majority of IT services for its practices and business functions have now been restored, but due to the increased levels of security and monitoring, some systems are not working as efficiently as before.

CVS also says that as a result of the incident, it is bringing forward plans to migrate its practice management system and related IT infrastructure to the cloud.

Analysis of the incident is ongoing and CVS says it will provide a further update in due course.

Vetpartners is offering grants to support those of its vets who want to boost their clinical skills by doing veterinary work overseas.

The veterinary group is stumping up more than £100,000 for the initiative, which will enable 20 vets and nurses, and 56 new grads from across the group to work with the Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) and other overseas animal charities.

The grants are for £1,500 and those taking part will also get up to one week of paid time off work whilst they volunteer.

VetPartners CEO Jo Malone said: “We wanted to support colleagues to have a fantastic experience while improving their skills in a different environment.

"It will give people a chance to use their clinical skills to give back to charities which are doing great work.

“If you’re working in a veterinary practice in Europe, you have support from team members around you and great facilities and equipment compared to the more challenging conditions working for a charity overseas.

"Working in these more challenging environments while they are volunteering will help build resilience, as our team members are unlikely to have experienced anything like this before.

“Charities like the World Veterinary Service are working ethically to help animals that may or may not have ever had veterinary care, and are doing a great job so we are delighted to support them.”

Virbac has launched the Multimin Focus Guide, an online platform to help vets educate their farmers on the importance of injectable trace minerals in the production cycle. 

Produced in association with Farmers Guardian, information in the guide includes the role of Multimin in increasing farm margins by reducing mastitis, improving fertility, assisting growth and increasing immunity.

The Multimin Focus Guide also includes case studies that demonstrate how livestock performance can be elevated with trace minerals, which is relevant to both the dairy and beef industries. 

Sabrina Jordan, Product Manager at Virbac said: "Multimin is a unique injection that is designed to ‘top up’ trace mineral supplies at critical times of the production cycle. 

"Strategic use of Multimin supports the transition cow and is increasingly used to increase fertility in maiden heifers, particularly at second lactation.

"Multimin is particularly useful for youngstock where it helps to boost immunity and growth; and supports during times of stress such as transportation and grouping. 

"Most significantly, in areas where vets have identified deficiencies in grazing pasture, Multimin can ensure that animals are 'topped up' with the appropriate trace minerals to optimise performance.

"The aim of this online resource is to support vets in demonstrating the importance of trace minerals to improving herd efficiency and health." 

www.farmersguardian.com/bringing-herd-health-virbac-multimin-focus

CVS, which is currently expanding in Australia, has launched a secondment programme through which its vets can apply for an opportunity to work down under for up to two years.

A similar scheme will also be run for Australian colleagues wanting to spend time in the UK.

The programme will allow the company's vets to enhance their role internationally and to explore other parts of the world whilst furthering their career.

The programme is open to vets with over one year's experience, who want to work overseas and then return to their current practice afterwards.

Secondments are also available for staff in support office roles. 

Staff will be able to return to their existing roles for up to 12 months, and thereafter a similar role will be made available to them in their region.

Graeme Cramb, Managing Director for CVS Australia, said: “Our vision is to be the veterinary company that most people want to work for and we believe this UK-Australia secondment scheme represents an attractive option for colleagues.

“As the first vet company to offer a UK-Australia secondment scheme, we hope that it enables our colleagues to learn from colleagues in a new territory, further their career and to lead to some exciting cross-pollination of ideas.”

When colleagues express an interest, they will be contacted by CVS recruitment team member to discuss potential opportunities that they can apply for.

They must meet the criteria required to be able to obtain a visa to work in Australia.

Successful applicants will be offered a relocation package and continue to be paid their salary in the UK.

They may also be eligible for the cost of living allowance, paid in Australia.

https://www.careerswithcvs.co.uk/intranet/vacancy/uk-to-australia-secondment-program-4472/18753/description/ 

With less than one month to go before all cats are required to be microchipped, Michelle Townley MRCVS, veterinary advisor to HomeAgain, has shared six ways to address the more common concerns that pet owners have about microchipping: 

Tip 1 – Make sure that pet owners understand the functions of a microchip properly
Michelle says: "Some customers I’ve spoken to wrongly believe that microchips function as GPS trackers. To help manage pet owners’ expectations I always stress the importance of a microchip in lost pet recovery scenarios, where they serve as a permanent form of identification."

Tip 2 – Stress the importance of pet owners updating their contact details with their microchip provider
Michelle says: "Pet owners often think that updating contact details with their vet will automatically sync these changes with the microchip database. It’s vital to inform owners that they must separately update their contact information with their microchip database.  I’d recommend regularly reminding pet owners to check and update their microchip registration."

Tip 3 – Reassure pet owners that microchips are safe for their cats
Michelle says: "I’ve had some owners express worries about allergic reactions or rejection of the microchip by their cat's body. So it’s worth taking the opportunity to dispel this myth  during routine wellness exams by explaining microchips are made from inert, biocompatible materials designed to be nonallergenic and nontoxic. 

Tip 4 – Make sure to discuss the longevity of microchips with pet owners
Michelle says: Microchips are designed to last the lifetime of the pet without needing a power source and that their functionality can easily be verified during any veterinary visit. If you find an owner expresses concerns about this, you could offer to check the microchip as part of regular health checks to demonstrate its reliability.

Tip 5 – Emphasise how every cat needs a microchip – regardless of age or activity level
Michelle says: "All vets will know even indoor or elderly cats can escape or wander off and older cats can become disoriented more easily. It is worth reminding owners that microchipping is a safeguard, ensuring their pet can be identified and returned home if lost. The new law means that pet owners can also face a large £500 fine if their cat isn’t microchipped."

Tip 6 – Explain how not all microchips are the same and the importance of getting the right one
Michelle says: I often explain that microchips vary in terms of the technology they employ, such as the new 'Thermochip' by HomeAgain that also measures a cat’s subcutaneous temperature. It’s worth talking pet owners through the different microchips available and the database options so they can make an informed choice.

http://homeagain.co.uk/Cats 

Cambridge-based Nebojsa Petrovic MRCVS has been suspended by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee for six months for dishonestly providing false information related to the export of horses.

Nebojsa Petrovic faced eight charges, although charge four was withdrawn at the start of the hearing.

At the outset of the hearing, Dr Petrovic admitted a number of allegations, including:

Charge 1 - that in November 2021, he falsely represented to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) that blood samples he submitted in respect of four horses were from the same horses as the samples he submitted on 1 November 2021.

Charge 2 – that in November 2021, he told APHA’s Veterinary Head of Border Control that he had checked the microchips and/or passports of the four horses when he hadn’t done so;

Charge 3 – that in November 2021, he signed Export Health Certificates for the four horses, in which it was stated that blood samples taken from these horses on October 2021 had been submitted to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency laboratory, Weybridge, with a negative result for Leptospirosis when in fact those samples had tested positive;

Charge 5 – that he failed to send the APHA’s Centre for International Trade, within seven days of signing, certified copies of the export health certificates;

Charge 7 – that in January 2022, he told an APHA officer that he was satisfied that he had properly identified the horses for which you had submitted the two samples when he had not done so;

Charge 8c – that he risked undermining government procedures designed to promote animal health and international relations in relation to the charges he admitted; and

Charge 9 – that in February 2022, he failed to have in place any or any adequate Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII).

Dr Petrovic, who was at the time of all the allegations carrying his duties as an Official Veterinarian on behalf of the APHA, denied charge 6 – that in November 2021, he failed to take sufficient steps to prevent the four horses being exported to Serbia, when he had been informed that there were concerns and/or doubts about whether those horses had tested negative for Leptospirosis.

He also denied charge 8 – that in relation to the allegations relating to his submitting the blood samples to the Veterinary Laboratories Agency on 8 November 2021, certification of the Export Health Certificates on 16 November 2021 and his subsequent conversations with members of APHA staff regarding both sets of documentation he had acted in a misleading (Charge 8a) and/or dishonest (Charge 8b) way.

The Committee considered evidence presented by the College including hearing from APHA staff witnesses called by the College and also hearing from a witness and character evidence presented by Dr Petrovic. Dr Petrovic also gave evidence to the Committee.

It found most charges proven with the exception of Charge 6, and also found that Dr Petrovic had not acted dishonestly in submitting the blood samples or certifying the EHC’s as alleged in charges 1 and 3.

The Committee concluded that Dr Petrovic had acted in a dishonest and misleading way in his conversations with the APHA staff as detailed in charges 2 and 7.

The Committee then considered whether the individual proven charges amounted to serious professional misconduct, determining that, with the exception of charges 3 and 5, all proven charges amounted to disgraceful conduct.

Paul Morris, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “In the Committee’s judgement, the respondent’s position as an Official Veterinarian also meant that he had a responsibility to ensure that the trust which was delegated to him was not breached.

"In his role, the respondent was acting in a position of trust, as a representative of the government, and the Committee found that he had breached that trust…. It took these matters into account when determining that the respondent’s behaviour cumulatively amounted to disgraceful conduct in a professional respect.”

Regarding the sanction for Dr Petrovic, the Committee considered his request that it consider suspension, rather than removal, from the Register.

In terms of aggravating factors – the Committee found that Dr Petrovic had acted without integrity, recklessly and without regard for the APHA’s systems relating to the export of animals.

In mitigation, it took into account: the fact that no animal was harmed by his conduct, albeit there was risk of harm; his long and unblemished career in the UK since 1994; admissions he had made to the APHA and Disciplinary Committee at the first day of the hearing; had remediated his lack of professional indemnity insurance by putting in place a retrospective policy; the significant amount of time that had elapsed since the conduct; and six positive character references from experienced fellow veterinary surgeons who held him in high regard.

Paul Morris added: “The Committee took into account that the respondent had continued to work as a veterinary surgeon with no subsequent complaints and that he had a previous long and unblemished record and there was support by several positive character references.

"The Committee also took into consideration the pressures of Brexit and the pandemic which the respondent had faced at the time, but which were unlikely to occur again.

“The Committee had concluded that the respondent was unlikely to repeat similar behaviour or to pose a risk to animals, particularly because he was no longer involved in certifying animals for export.

"Furthermore his admissions to most of the matters it had found proved showed that he had some insight.

"The Committee was also satisfied that the respondent had a genuine concern for the welfare of animals and it noted that the Respondent did not require any further training to continue in practice as a veterinary surgeon.

 “The Committee therefore concluded that a suspension from the Register was the proportionate sanction in this case taking into account the seriousness of the conduct it had found proved but also all of the mitigating factors.”

The Committee recommended that Dr Petrovic be suspended for six months to reflect the seriousness of the conduct and the damage it could do to public confidence in the profession, while meeting the public interest and sending a clear message of deterrence.

www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary

Zoetis has added AI equine faecal egg count analysis to its diagnostics platform, Vetscan Imagyst.

Dr Wendy Talbot BVSc DipECEIM MRCVS, Equine National Veterinary Manager at Zoetis said: “Fast equine faecal egg count results are crucial for the appropriate and timely treatment of gastrointestinal parasites, and to detect the increasingly concerning issue of dewormer resistance in horses.

"This technology is proven to be as accurate at identifying Strongyle spp. and Parascaris spp. as a board-certified parasitologist, delivering fast, reliable and shareable results within 10 minutes.¹”

Zoetis says study results have demonstrated the AI capability within the Vetscan Imagyst to be up to 99% in agreement with board-certified parasitologist results¹.

This, says the company, allows for rapid identification of high shedders versus low shedders to enable strategic targeted deworming protocols to be implemented.

Reference

1. Zoetis Data on File. Study Report No. DHX6Z-US-22-131 (D6131).

His Majesty King Charles III has been confirmed as the Royal Patron for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and the British Veterinary Association, roles previously held by his mother.

The roles were confirmed by Buckingham Palace this month as part of a recent review of royal patronages. 

RCVS President Dr Sue Paterson FRCVS said: “We are delighted that His Majesty the King is our new Royal Patron, continuing his mother’s support for the veterinary professions. 

“We know that His Majesty is a keen advocate for animal health and welfare, the environment and biodiversity, and so his interests align very much with ours in areas such as sustainability, tackling antimicrobial resistance, and in supporting veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses to best meet their professional standards.

British Veterinary Association President Dr. Anna Judson said: “We’re honoured to welcome His Majesty King Charles as our Patron.

"This ongoing royal commitment recognises the vital contribution vets make to animal welfare and their critical role in society, from taking care of the nation’s pets through to ensuring animal welfare in food production, public health and international trade.

"On behalf of our members, we’d like to thank His Majesty for his commitment to BVA, our profession and the work we do.”