Melvyn Driver, the founder of MDC Exports who dedicated his life to the design and production of humane animal handling equipment, has died of natural causes aged 80.

Melvyn was instrumental in shaping the success of the Trap, Neuter, Return, method of controlling feral cat populations. After meeting 60's supermodel Celia Hammond, scientist Dr. Jenny Remfry, and Peter Neville, a research biologist for UFAW, acted on their requests for better and more humane traps and engineered his first trap - the Eziset.

Melvyn went on to develop a dog grasper and a wide range of other handling products widely used in veterinary practice. He then developed the Mikki Muzzle, on the back of which he launched Mikki Pet Products, adding a range of grooming products. 

In 1998, Melvyn sold Mikki to focus on his real passion – developing high welfare animal handling equipment and products sold via MDC Exports.

Ian MacFarlaine RVN said: "His impact on the veterinary world is only eclipsed by how much of a contribution he's made to animal charities globally, not just in inventing stuff, but then discounting it readily (through good and bad economic times) and then if that wasn't enough, giving thousands of pounds worth of it away at the ICAWC conference every year.

"If you were privileged enough to know him well, then you'll miss the kindness, the mischievous humour and the occasional bad taste joke. But I can guarantee that a little bit of Melvyn is there in each and every one of your practices in the form of one piece of equipment or other."

The British Veterinary Association has expressed concern about an increasing trend towards temporary contracts for new graduates following the release of headline figures of a survey by the Institute for Employment Studies on behalf of the RCVS.

The survey showed that the percentage of graduates leaving their first job within the first three months has significantly increased for those who graduated in 2012 and who have already left their first position. Amongst vets who graduated in 2010 and had already left their first job 7.7% had done so within the first three months; for 2011 graduates this figure is 15.9%; and for 2012 graduates it is currently 42.6%, although this percentage is likely to decrease over the next year as more of the 2012 cohort leave their first roles. The two main reasons given for leaving first jobs are poor management and temporary contracts. 

Besides this unexpected increase the survey showed little change in other areas for recent graduates, although there has been a slight increase in the amount of time taken for new graduates to find their first job. The survey also revealed that over the 5 year period 16% fewer graduates found jobs in under 3 months.

BVA President Peter Jones said: "Information in this survey and that conducted by the British Equine Veterinary Association recently is valuable evidence of how the changing environment affects those entering our profession and will feed into the on-going discussion at BVA on veterinary workforce issues.

"Perhaps most worrying is the statistic that the percentage of graduates leaving their first job within the first 3 months has significantly increased. The main reasons cited are poor management and temporary contracts. The trend towards temporary contracts is very worrying in terms of job security for those just starting out in our profession.

"Poor management has long concerned the BVA and is what initially led us to establish initiatives such as the Young Vet Network, the recent graduate guide and our contracts of employment campaign. We are currently working on building that support and we are in the process of widening the network of graduate support meetings to help with moral support and networking opportunities. We also supporting the RCVS's Professional Development Phase to support new graduates in their first few years of practice and have produced a number of resources to assist with this process."

While the results show little evidence of a major impact on job prospects from the increase in graduates since the opening of Nottingham Veterinary School, BVA members remain concerned about the impact of a new school opening next year such as the one planned at the University of Surrey.

Peter Jones continued: "It is reassuring to see that overall trends are not changing significantly, however, the ease with which our graduates are getting jobs is changing. We will therefore be considering in some depth the impact that two, three or more new veterinary schools could have in the future. Rumours of yet more new veterinary schools elsewhere are a serious worry for the profession.

New research released by National Pet Month (5th April -5th May) has found that the UK’s most popular dog breed is the Labrador. There are 209 recognised dog breeds in the UK; 7.3 million dogs in total in the UK, one in ten of which is a Labrador.

The Pet Population study was conducted by leading industry body, the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA) for National Pet Month and reflects past research by BBC Magazines which revealed that the Andrex puppy is the nation’s favourite TV animal.

The annual Pet Population report shows that over since 2003, the Labrador population has increased by 28%.

National Pet Month culminates in Wet Nose Day on 23rd April to tie in with St George’s Day, this national event will celebrate animals great and small, and also see the launch of a photographic exhibition at Selfridges London in their pet department. The ‘Hall of Fame’ photography exhibition is part of a National Pet Month competition which ran in Your Cat and Your Dog magazines during March.

Visit http://www.nationalpetmonth.org.uk/ for more information.

Petplan is running its television advertising campaign from now until October.

The advert (below) is airing on Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, ITV2, ITV3, More 4, Gold and USA.

Suzanne Cheadle, Acting Head of Marketing at Petplan said: "As the UK market leader, it is imperative that pet owners recognise and understand who we are and what we stand for. We need to help pet owners understand not only why pet insurance is so important, but explain why they should choose Petplan over any other provider. In 36 years, there's not an illness or accident that we haven't seen, and our Covered For Life policies have been developed with unrivalled knowledge and experience."

Chief Veterinary Officer Nigel Gibbens has announced that the Avian Influenza Prevention Zone that has been in place since 6th December will be extended until 28th February to help protect captive birds, after confirmation of another case of H5N8 in a backyard flock in Carmarthenshire yesterday.

Nigel Gibben said: "The Prevention Zone means anyone who keeps poultry such as chickens, ducks and geese, even as pets, must take action to stop them coming into contact with wild birds to protect them from avian flu.

"Birds should be moved into a suitable building, or if that isn’t possible owners must take sensible precautions to keep them away from wild birds, like putting up netting to create a temporary enclosure and keeping food and water supplies inside where they cannot be contaminated by wild birds.

"Even when birds are kept indoors a risk of infection remains so keepers must also practice good biosecurity, for example by disinfecting footwear and equipment and washing clothing after contact with birds.

"Recent H5N8 avian flu findings in wild birds and a backyard flock in Wales highlight just how essential it is to minimise contact between wild and captive birds and maintain good biosecurity to reduce the risk of infection.

"We must continue to be vigilant and do all we can to protect against this highly pathogenic strain of the disease, which is why we are extending the Prevention Zone, have introduced a ban on poultry gatherings and continue to strengthen surveillance to understand the extent of infection in wild birds."

Professor Sandy Trees has been invested as the new President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons during RCVS Day, held on 3rd July. 

Sandy is an Edinburgh graduate, qualifying from the Dick Vet in 1969. After graduation, he undertook a mixture of research posts at home and overseas, plus a spell in general practice, before completing his PhD in 1976, also at Edinburgh. He then spent some time in the animal health industry before moving into academia in the early 1980s, starting as a lecturer in veterinary parasitology in Liverpool University's Faculty of Veterinary Science, based in the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. He was awarded a personal chair in veterinary parasitology and became Head of the Parasite and Vector Biology Division in 1994. Sandy held the post of Dean of Faculty from 2001 until 2008, and still teaches BVSc, MSc and PhD students.

Sandy's broad veterinary political experience includes spells on the BVA's Veterinary Policy Group and Education Group, President of the Association of Veterinary Teachers and Research Workers, Vice-President of the European College of Veterinary Parasitology and Chairman of the Heads of Veterinary Schools. Serving on RCVS Council since 2000 as one of the Liverpool veterinary faculty's appointed members, Sandy has been a member of the Education Policy and Specialisation, Planning and Resources, and Preliminary Investigation Committees.

RCVS Day also brought other changes to the RCVS Officer team: Jill Nute, outgoing President, became Senior Vice-President, Peter Jinman took up the role of Junior Vice-President, and Dr Jerry Davies was confirmed as Treasurer for another year.

Dr Bob Moore stood down as Senior Vice-President, with Jill Nute commenting that: "Bob has been an extremely valued member of the Officer Team and I would like to express my grateful thanks for the unstinting support he has given me during my term as President."

Retiring Council members included David Harding, Nigel Swayne and Brian Jennings, a Privy Council appointee.

As part of the AGM, newly-elected Council members Chris Tufnell and Chris Gray were welcomed. It was also announced that Professor Stephen May had been appointed for a further year by the Royal Veterinary College, Professor Stuart Reid had been appointed for a further four-year term by the University of Glasgow, and likewise Caroline Freedman by the University of Edinburgh. Dr Frank Taylor, whose role as Head of Bristol Veterinary School is due to conclude at the end of the month, will stay on Council until a successor is appointed.

The President then made her outgoing address, in which she described how she had been keen during her presidential year to ensure that the College is "open, approachable, accountable and transparent," citing the work of the Corporate Governance Group as a good example of activities to this end: "Under the guidance of Sir Anthony Holland, Chairman of the Group, we have robust procedures in place for managing conflicts of interest and have put in place arrangements to keep corporate governance under regular review," she said.

Discussing the activities of the College during the year, she made mention of work with the Veterinary Medicines Directorate to produce the Register of Veterinary Practice Premises and with the Office of Fair Trading regarding monitoring the reintroduction of prescription charges. She also touched on the review of the Practice Standards Scheme and the work of the 24/7 Working Party. She conceded that the College faced a challenge with regards to out-of-hours cover, which the majority of vets questioned in a recent survey would like to maintain: "The question is, how can this be achieved within the law [Working Time Regulations] and without a hike in charges that might, perversely, have a negative effect on animal welfare by reducing take-up of veterinary services?" she asked.

Finally, Jill paid tribute to the hard work of College and Trust staff, Council members and her fellow Officers: "One thing you learn as President is that you are just part of the bigger picture and things can only be achieved with the support and collaboration of those across the profession."

Incoming President Sandy Trees described Jill Nute as having "presided over the College with utter fairness and even handedness, working incredibly hard for the interests of the College and its members, certainly delivering on your aim for openness and accessibility". He looked forward to his own presidency with "honour, excitement and trepidation".

International Cat Care (iCatCare) and its veterinary branch, the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) have launched two initiatives to further a holistic approach to cat welfare.

The new ISFM Academy of Feline Practitioners is a body of dedicated veterinary surgeons from all over the world who have further qualifications in feline practice or medicine, or have specialised in disciplines that complement the focus of ISFM.

Members will have the opportunity to discuss publications, investigate cases with colleagues, collaborate on research, talk about developments, and forge links between themselves. The charity says it will be a forward-thinking coalition that will actively seek to advance developments in medicine. Any vet that meets the requirements of the academy can join.

To complement the veterinary expertise in the Academy of Feline Practitioners, the charity has also developed the iCatCare Feline Wellbeing Panel. 
 
The panel is an international coalition of experts who come from different professional backgrounds but who all specialise in some form in the mental wellbeing of cats. 

The purpose of the panel is to help those working and caring for cats in all the various settings to understand their behavioural, emotional and cognitive capabilities and needs in order to be able to promote their mental wellbeing and ultimately protect their welfare.

Such settings include people’s homes, in catteries, in veterinary clinics, and in homing centres and on the streets. Through the sharing of initiatives and information in a confidential space, iCatCare says this will be a collaborative effort that will advance the accepted understanding and common practices in a way that would be impossible to do individually. 

CEO, Claire Bessant (pictured right) said: "By working together, gaining input from great people and enabling all those who work with cats to grow their expertise, iCatCare can deliver on its mission to create a world in which each cat’s life experience will be as good as it can be’.
 
For more information about how to join the ISFM Academy of Feline Practitioners, visit: https://icatcare.org/veterinary/isfm/isfm-academy. For more information about the Feline Wellbeing Panel, visit:  https://icatcare.org/about/our-expert-panel

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica has launched a competition to find 12 dogs that have responded well to treatment with Vetmedin, to feature in the company's forthcoming 2012 Better Dogs calendar.

Boehringer is particularly interested in hearing about dogs with funny or quirky stories, or ones that have made a dramatic heart-warming recovery. If the submission makes it to the short list of 12 they will be featured in Vetmedin's 2012 Better Dogs Calendar which will be available to veterinary practices later in the year. In addition, the vet with the best story will win a £250 Red Letter Days' voucher with the 11 runners up winning the new BSAVA Manual of Thoracic Imaging.

In return for pet owners agreeing to their dog's story being submitted, Boehringer will send each veterinary practice a complimentary pack of either Vetmedin 1.25mg x 50 tablets or Vetmedin 5.0mg x 50 tablets, depending on the normal prescription, to give to their client.

Entries can be made either on the 2012 Better Dogs Calendar form which can be found in a recent Vetmedin mailing or via email to vetmedin.bra@boehringer-ingelheim.com.  All entries should be accompanied by a photograph. Terms and conditions apply and the closing date for submissions is 30 September 2011.

For further information, please contact your Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Territory Manager or call 01344 746959.

Bayer Animal Health has announced the launch of a new campaign which plays on our anthropomorphic nature to drive owners into practice for worming.

As part of the campaign, the company has enrolled the behaviour specialist and author Sarah Whitehead to oversee a video analysis of the behavioural interaction between a small number of dogs and their owners. The results will be used to make an educational film for pet owners which helps them better understand their pet's emotions and behaviour.

Tracey Dawson, Group Product Manager at Bayer Animal Health said: "We want owners to really understand the importance of health on their dog's happiness and behaviour, whilst reminding them to worm their pet at least four times a year. Our ground breaking research will make owners feel like real-life Dr Doolittle, as they will better understand their pet's emotions and actions, highlighting the importance of keeping their dogs healthy, happy and worm-free."

In order to prompt owners to worm their dog more frequently, Bayer has also launched a free SMS/email worming reminder service available at www.drontal.com. In addition, there'll be a new CPD section for SQPs on the website in the summer..

Bayer is also developing 'Worm Reminder' toolkits for veterinary practices, including a press release template, infographics, and video report of the research findings to further promote the importance of worming frequently. For more information, talk to your Bayer representative.

The European Commission has agreed with the BSAVA and BVA that controls must be maintained to keep the UK free from the tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis, and adopted a regulation that will permit pre-movement treatment for dogs travelling to listed Member States (i.e. the UK, Ireland, Finland and Malta).

In June Defra announced that the UK's derogation from European pet travel rules, which allows additional protection for the UK against rabies, ticks and tapeworms, would end on 31 December 2011. The movement rules on rabies and ticks will now be harmonised with the rest of Europe.

However, due to the significant public health risk posed by Echinococcus multilocularis, the BVA and BSAVA (working with Defra, the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe [FVE] and colleagues in Veterinary Ireland) continued to lobby the European Commission for controls on tapeworms to be maintained.

The regulation will ensure that a dog must be treated by a veterinary surgeon 24 to 120 hours (1-5 days) before entering one of the listed countries.

The BVA and BSAVA say they made a scientific case for a treatment window of 24-48 hours, but accept that the Commission had to find a compromise that would assist pet owners travelling during national holidays.

Harvey Locke, President of the BVA said: "This has been a long process but the BVA and BSAVA put forward the strong scientific case for the UK to maintain tapeworm controls and we are delighted that the European Commission has adopted this resolution.

"In our role as guardians of public health, vets were deeply concerned that the removal of tapeworm controls would see the introduction of EM to the UK and Ireland.

"Although relatively benign in dogs, the resulting disease in humans - alveolar echinococcosis - is an invasive, cancer-like cystic stage of the parasite, and is invariably fatal if not treated.

"The next stage of our lobbying will be to ensure that Member States and MEPs from across Europe support the UK's case for the additional controls."

Andrew Ash, President of BSAVA said: "Echinococcus multilocularis is a significant public health threat and we have worked hard to ensure the European Commission understands the potential impact of allowing this zoonotic disease to enter our country.

"The BVA and BSAVA will continue to promote the best possible health and welfare advice for pet owners taking their animals abroad. Our advice to owners is to speak to a vet as early as possible to make sure pets are protected from all diseases and parasites encountered abroad."

A new study published in the latest issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP), reports the clinical features, gross post mortem and histopathological findings of sudden or unexpected death in rabbits during an outbreak of RHD.

For the study, titled “RHDV2 epidemic in UK pet rabbits. Part 1: clinical features, gross post mortem and histopathological findings”¹, veterinary surgeons were encouraged to submit case histories and the results of post mortem examinations of pet rabbits that died suddenly. Samples taken during the post mortem were sent for histopathological examination.

Frances Harcourt-Brown, corresponding author for the paper, said: "Case histories, macroscopic findings and histopathology results were available from 300 rabbits that died suddenly.

"Of these, 185 (62%) died from RHD and showed characteristic histopathological features of RHD including apoptosis and variable lytic and coagulative hepatocellular necrosis, with varying distribution.

"Interestingly, macroscopic evidence of disease was not present in all cases – for example, gross liver abnormalities were only reported in 30% of cases, despite all cases showing hepatocellular necrosis on microscopic examination.

"Rapid death and death of other rabbits in the household were common features of RHD.

"Histopathology was also useful in yielding valuable information about other causes of death in the rabbits that did not die from RHD.”

Nicola Di Girolamo, editor of JSAP said: “This is a terrible disease that is currently spreading in areas of the world that were free from it until recently. Having more evidence on the type of clinical presentations and lesions that should be expected with this disease in rabbit patients is going to be of tremendous value for clinicians. Given that there is not always macroscopic evidence of RHD, histopathology is key for the diagnosis of RHD in pet rabbits.”

The full article can be found in the July issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice which is free for BSAVA members.

It can also be read online here: https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsap.13141

Reference

1. 1N. Harcourt-Brown, M. Silkstone, T. J. Whitbread and F. M. Harcourt-Brown (2020) RHDV2 epidemic in UK pet rabbits. Part 1: clinical features, gross post mortem and histopathological findings.  Journal of Small Animal Practice, 61 (7). Available at: https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jsap.13141

Photo: BSAVA

CVS has reported the results of a clinical improvement project it ran in 105 of its first opinion small animal practices to increase screening for hypertension in older cats.

According to the company, participating practices more than doubled the number of blood pressure checks they conducted, within 12 months. 

The CVS’ clinical improvement project initially looked at how effective its first opinion small animal practices were in screening older cats for hypertension.

In line with the veterinary industry norm, it found that less than two per cent of cats over the age of seven were receiving an annual blood pressure check.

This initial research also found that the common barriers to conducting blood pressure checks by vets and veterinary nurses in practice were due to time constraints, availability of equipment and simply remembering to discuss blood pressure checks with owners.

Each CVS site chose two people to lead the initiative at their site, to aid communication and delivery.

A document was created to help, providing background, aims, summary of resources and planning sections.

Contributory factors preventing delivery of blood pressure checks were outlined and practices were encouraged to identify additional barriers and resources needed.

A suite of resources were then produced to support the practice team - from reception to veterinary surgeons - in improving annual blood pressure check rates.

The resources included new clinical frameworks and veterinary guidelines on how to treat hypertension; in-practice educational resources to highlight the benefits of hypertension screening and information sheets and blood pressure diaries to help clients manage their pets condition.

To upskill and develop colleagues in how to identify and treat hypertension and resulting conditions, a collection of training materials was created and training sessions held.

These included a series of webinars which explained why hypertension is important to identify, how to overcome common challenges encountered when looking for hypertension in cats, how to use the ophthalmic exam to help diagnose hypertension and how to treat hypertension.

Three in-person CPD days were hosted with the support from Ceva six months into the project where feline specialists Sarah Caney and Samantha Taylor shared the latest evidence base in this field and practices were encouraged to share barriers, queries and tips, so that ideas could be taken away to make blood pressure screening a simpler process in practice.

Practices were also encouraged to organise lunch and learn CPD sessions, to share best practice and generate discussion within their team.

In addition, a website was created to host all resources in one place, including webinars, clinical frameworks, client resources, a discussion forum and data.

An audit of each participating practice’s blood pressure check data was conducted at the start of the project.

Results were then shared with each participating practice every month - including the total number of blood pressure checks performed each month and the percentage of cats over the age of seven who had an annual blood pressure check.

Twelve months after its nation-wide launch, results reveal that the number of blood pressure checks have more than doubled (110%) within participating CVS practices and an additional 5,984 blood pressure checks have been performed year on year.

A number of practices were able to implement systems that allowed them to perform over 40 blood pressures each month.

The number of cats on amlodipine (the first choice medication to treat hypertension in cats) increased by 303 patients year-on-year, hinting many more cats had been diagnosed with hypertension.

Kate Allgood, Hub Clinical Lead at CVS who was responsible for the hypertension clinical improvement project, said: “There is a huge benefit in treating hypertension.

"No one wants to see a cat suddenly become blind due to hypertension that wasn’t recognised in time.

"So many associated longer-term feline complications and conditions can be avoided if annual blood pressure checks in cats over the age of seven are routinely performed.

"Increasing blood pressure screening is not a simple task though, and this focus has allowed space and time for practices to give this topic the recognition it deserves; to identify and implement systems that make it easier to identify patients at risk, discuss with clients and perform these checks with ease.

"We have created a robust clinical structure, produced some easily accessible materials and supported our practices to make small and simple changes that add up.

"Our practices have done an outstanding job at delivering this project to date and I look forward to seeing what can be achieved in the future. We strongly believe that this work will contribute towards providing some of the best clinical care for cats in the veterinary profession.”

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has produced bookmarks for accredited practices to give clients, which explain the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme (PSS).

Lizzie Lockett, Head of the RCVS Communications Department said: "A key part of the PSS is helping practices explain their accreditation to clients - and the bookmarks are a simple and eye-catching promotional tool for this. We hope they will have the advantage over conventional leaflets of being kept, and used, by clients, meaning the accredited-practice message is more likely to be taken on board. Although many people are using e-books these days, the traditional book - and bookmark - still has a place." 

All accredited practices may order a free sample of 100 bookmarks, and a further 400 free bookmarks are available to practices recently renewing or receiving accreditation. More bookmarks may also be ordered from the RCVS, as well as the new accredited-practice logos. To find out more, or download an order form, practices can visit www.rcvs.org.uk/PSSpromo.