Norbrook has announced the launch of Spotinor Deltamethrin spot-on, a new product which kills a wide range of external parasites that can have economically damaging effects on cattle, sheep and lambs.

The product is effective against lice and flies on cattle, ticks, lice, keds and established blowfly strike on sheep, and lice and ticks on lambs. It is available in 250ml and 500ml squeeze neck dispensing packs as well as a 1 litre and 2.5 litre backpack with dosing gun. The dose is 10ml for cattle, 5ml for sheep and 2.5ml for lambs (under 10kg/1 month of age).

Spotinor has a zero milk withhold time.

Edward Haughey, Director of Norbrook GB, said: "As Britain's leading veterinary pharmaceutical company, Norbrook is committed to providing British farmers and vets with the products and services they need to manage animal health effectively. Spotinor is the first generic to market, which displays the same benefits as the pioneer product. We are delighted to launch Spotinor, which gives livestock producers a greater choice of safe and sound solutions for the control of external parasites."

For more information, contact your Norbrook representative, telephone +44 (0) 1536 741 147 or email: enquiries@norbrook.co.uk  

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

The National Office of Animal Health Code of Practice Committee has found MSD Animal Health in breach of the NOAH Code on promotion for its advertisment for Equilis Prequenza.

The advert appeared in three separate issues of Veterinary Times (15, 22 and 29 September 2014), on the rear back cover of the 2014 BEVA Congress proceedings, and on the inside back cover of the 2014 Congress Planner.  It contained the phrase “Neuraminidase antibodies provided a degree of protection in the case of HA strain/vaccine mismatch”, when viewed against the context of the advertisement headed ‘Why have part when you can have it all?”.

The Committee’s view was that the item in the context of the advertisement was intended to mean, and did convey, the meaning that the inclusion of NA antigens in an equine vaccine gave that vaccine a clinical advantage over vaccines which did not. This claim was not substantiated. Accordingly, the Committee found the phrase in breach of Code of Practice Clauses 4.1(iii) misleading, 4.1(vi) contained an exaggerated claim, 4.1(vii) implied it had a special merit which was not substantiated, 4.2(i) was not accurate and 4.2(ii) was not based upon an up-to-date evaluation of all the evidence.

Full details of the Committee’s rulings can be found on the NOAH website at www.noah.co.uk/code. The full report of this particular case will be available shortly.

Vetoquinol has initiated a Class I recall of Lydaxx 100 mg/ml solution for injection, an antibiotic for cattle, pigs and sheep.

The company initiated the recall after identifying a potential for the sterility/stability of the product to be compromised due to a crimping problem of the aluminium cap.

The recall is for the 100 ml bottles of the following batch only:

Batch No.0C3829 Expiry Date 03/12/2022

Vetoquinol UK Ltd is contacting veterinary surgeons and veterinary wholesalers to examine inventory immediately and quarantine products subject to this recall.

For further information, contact the Customer Services Department on +44 1280 814500 Option 1 or email: UK_office@vetoquinol.com.

Two new edition's of Veterinary Focus, Royal Canin's free journal for companion animal veterinary surgeons are now available free of charge to UK vets.

Focus on Respiratory Disease includes features on brachycephalic syndrome, feline asthma, thoracic radiography of respiratory cases, canine fungal rhinitis, tracheobronchial foreign bodies in dogs and cats, emergency care of patients with acute respiratory distress, and respiratory parasitic diseases.  Contributors include representatives from veterinary universities in Germany, Spain, Italy, the USA, and Argentina, and from the UK, Martin Sullivan BVMS, PhD, DVR, Dipl. ECVDI, MRCVS from Glasgow University and Mike Stafford Johnson, MVB, MRCVS, DVC Cert, SAM, MACVS from the Veterinary Cardiorespiratory Centre in Kenilworth.

Focus on Liver Disease includes features on feline inflammatory liver disease, canine portosystemic shunts, jaundice in the dog, extra-hepatic biliary system surgery, laboratory tests for liver disease, liver enzyme testing, diagnosis and treatment of liver tumours, and liver biopsy sampling.  Contributors include representatives from veterinary universities in France, Spain, Italy, the USA, New Caledonia, Argentina, and Grenada, and from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Danielle Gunn-Moore, BSc. BVM&S, PhD, FHEA, MACVSc, MRCVS, Nicki Reed, BM&S, Cert VR.DSAM (Feline) Dipl. ECVIM-CA, MRCVS, and Kathryn Pratschke, MVB. MVM, Cert SAS, Dipl. ECVS, MRCVS.

Lee Danks, Royal Canin Veterinary Support manager, said: "Focus is a really interesting and informative publication, and with each issue focusing on a particular body system it offers a complete review of the latest thinking in each area.  The contributors are all highly renowned in their individual fields, and being able to provide this kind of expertise to our veterinary partners is something we are really proud of."

Veterinary Focus is published in English, French, German, Chinese, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Greek and Russian and reaches over 80,000 veterinary surgeons worldwide.

For a free copy of Focus, speak to your Royal Canin veterinary business manager, who will add you to the subscription list.

The RCVS Veterinary Nurses Council has celebrated the 50^th anniversary of veterinary nursing at the House of Commons with a call for statutory regulation for the profession.

At a Golden Jubilee event hosted by Mr Roger Gale MP, Veterinary Nurses Council Chairman Liz Branscombe drew attention to the fact that there is no legal protection for the title 'veterinary nurse', despite qualified nurses playing "a unique role in the practice team". 

This effectively means that anyone could work in a veterinary practice as a nurse, without taking the three- or four-year training required for Listed or Registered Veterinary Nurses.

Liz said: "We believe that the nation's animals and their owners deserve better than this. And it's not just a question of animal welfare: public health is at risk from the incorrect use of medicines - for example, the well documented development of antimicrobial resistance."

The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 was put in place only five years after the introduction of veterinary nurse training and too soon to fully recognise the potential of veterinary nursing as a profession in its own right.

As an interim measure, the RCVS has put in place a non-statutory Register for Veterinary Nurses, to which 86% of eligible nurses have signed up. Registered Veterinary Nurses agree to follow a code of conduct, keep their skills and knowledge up to date and abide by a disciplinary system. However, it is not possible for the College to bar those removed from the Register for serious professional misconduct from working as a veterinary nurse.

The Register also does not address the misuse of the title 'veterinary nurse' by unqualified people.

Liz asked MPs present at the House of Commons reception to sign up to an Early Day Motion tabled by Andrew Rosindell MP, which calls for statutory regulation for the veterinary nursing profession.

Others are urged to sign a petition on the Government's website which has been mounted by the British Veterinary Nursing Association and is supported by the College and the British Veterinary Association: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/18700.

The issues are being considered by the RCVS Veterinary Nurses Legislation Working Party and the group's recommendations will feed into the wider work of the RCVS Legislation Working Party, which will be reporting to the Defra Minister of State in the summer of 2012 with proposals as to how statutory regulation could be provided for a range of veterinary services, including veterinary nursing.

The BSAVA has launched a new Masters in Clinical Veterinary Research. 

The Association says that the qualification is intended to give vets the chance to conduct clinical research relating to their work – in particular vets working in general practice.

The qualification, validated by Nottingham Trent University, is aimed at people who already have any accredited Postgraduate Certificate (60 credits at Level 7) relevant to some aspect of veterinary medicine or surgery.

The programme is based on a further 1,200 study hours and could be flexibly achieved in two years of part-time study or up to five years, depending on the project type and an individual’s availability.

Frances Barr, BSAVA Academic Director, has developed the most extensive CPD programme in the 60-year history of the organisation. She said: "It’s a really significant addition to the BSAVA CPD programme and another step supporting lifelong learning, which we hope will have a very positive impact on the profession."

"Anyone who has an interest in clinical research – such as evaluating risk factors for a particular disease or factors that might influence an outcome – will find this an ideal way to satisfy their enquiring mind.

"If they have the motivation to keep developing a deeper understanding, we can provide encouragement and support for how to answer those clinical questions."

The Masters programme starts with online study into the principles of clinical research, which students will then apply to their own research project.

Students will be allocated a ‘matched’ supervisor who will provide project advice and guidance, plus the BSAVA team will be on hand to ensure ongoing support and encouragement.

The programme starts in January 2017 and applications open this October.

Frances added: "It can sometimes be quite difficult to get going in research when you don’t know how to do it, so having taken the first step in a supported environment we hope many will go on to do extend their clinical research ambitions.

"BSAVA’s mission is to support vets at every stage of their careers. There are often limited opportunities for practitioners to conduct clinical research, so this is a qualification that enables vets to do just that."

For more information, please contact the BSAVA Education team at masters@bsava.com

VetCT has announced that it now offers unlimited specialist teleconsulting support to help general practitioners with the management of chronic cases.

The VetCT teleconsulting service, which can be accessed via the web and an app-based platform, provides advice from a specialist team.

Typically advice is provided as a written report within 24 hours, with options for text chat or telephone conversations when vets may want to discuss the case with a specialist.

The service can be accessed on a pay-per-case or subscription basis.

Until now, follow-up advice had been capped at two weeks.

Internal medicine specialist and Head of Teleconsulting at VetCT, Kate Murphy, said: “We are delighted to be extending our support for cases that require ongoing management, such as endocrine disorders or complex wound management.

"Our clients have fed back how valuable it will be to partner with us longer term for these patients, to provide guidance and reassurance that care is being optimised and help to keep owners engaged and happy.”

welcome.vet-ct.com/sales 

Maverick Television is looking for three veterinary surgeons and two veterinary nurses to front a new Channel 4 television show.

Maverick, makers of Embarrassing Bodies and Bizarre Animal ER, says the new show will be about embarrassing animal behaviours and their bizarre or weird medical conditions.

For further information, contact Laura Wolf on 0121 771 1812, or email her your CV and a recent photograph: l.woolf@mavericktv.co.uk.

The University of Liverpool's School of Veterinary Science has released the results of research carried out in collaboration with the Royal Canin Research Centre in France, which shows that cats eat 15% less in the summer than the winter.

Researchers spent four years monitoring how much cats chose to eat. The 38 cats studied had a microchip on their collar which allowed them to take as much food as they wanted from a dispenser which only opened for them.  At the same time, this microchip recorded how much the cat had eaten and when.

Veterinary surgeon and study author, Dr Alex German, said: "Cats, like many humans are more inclined to comfort eat when it's cold outside but, in their case, it's likely to be due to the extra energy they need to keep warm when out and about."

The study found that cats ate approximately 15% less food during summer, and the researchers concluded that the extra effort to keep warm in winter and the temptation to rest during hot summer days contributed to the swing in activity levels during the year.

The cats were all inhabitants of a centre in southern France where they were allowed to play and exercise outside all year round. The cats were of mixed breeds, ages and genders. Data on food was compared to the climate in the area using computer modelling to provide information about how the temperature changed over the year.

Seasonal food intake has also been examined in the past on farm animals, such as dairy cows, to establish new ways of increasing milk production, but this is the largest study that has yet taken place with domestic cats.

Dr German said: "People should consider the amount of food their cats need at different times of year as this can be part of helping them to maintain a healthy weight."

The paper was published in the journal PLOS One. http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0096071

Ceredigion veterinary surgeon Robert Alun Merfyn Evans has been suspended from the Register for six months by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee after he admitted to misconduct relating to tuberculin testing for cattle he owned and failing to register the births and deaths of cattle.

Mr Evans appeared before the Committee on the 11th February, when he admitted the two heads of charge of misconduct against him.

The first head of charge related to the fact that, between 24 June and 29 June 2013, he deliberately failed to bring to attention of Wyn Lewis MRCVS, an Official Veterinarian (OV) and fellow director of Mr Evans’ practice in Cardigan, the cattle on his farm requiring intradermal comparative tuberculin tests; that he tested certain of the cattle himself despite not being the OV for those tests and having a conflict of interest; and that he provided inaccurate and incomplete information to his practice for the completion of a report on the testing to be sent to the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). This misconduct was then repeated the following year between 19 June and 1 August 2014.

The second head of charge against Mr Evans related to breaches of the Cattle Identification (Wales) Regulations 2007 between 4 July 2005 and 20 June 2014, namely the fact that he failed to register the birth of five calves and the death of nine cows. These were accepted as being specimen charges reflecting a much larger total number of breaches over the whole nine year period.

Mr Evans’ misconduct first came to light when a late return was sent to the AHVLA in August 2014 regarding the TB testing of 51 live animals on his farm in June 2014. When the report was scrutinised the AHVLA noticed that 26 animals shown on the return as dead were still registered, while 20 animals that were tested were not registered. When the AHVLA investigated, Mr Evans immediately admitted that he had misled Mr Lewis on two occasions and carried out his own testing despite not being the OV.

The Committee heard that he did this because he did not want it to be found out that he had unregistered cattle on his farm. Regarding the unregistered cattle, the Committee heard that this stemmed from a mistake made by Mr Evans in 2005 or 2006 whereby he mislaid a batch of around nine bovine passport application forms sent to him to register the birth of calves on his farm, a legal requirement for the purposes of animal health, disease control and safeguarding the food chain.

As a result of poor IT skills and being profoundly deaf, Mr Evans felt unable to seek support online or by telephone, was too embarrassed to tell others and, furthermore, felt that it was impossible to correct his mistake without being in breach of the law. So, for a period of nine or 10 years, he failed to register the birth of calves on his farm. His failure to register the deaths of cattle, was also caused by administrative failings. His breaches of the cattle registration regulations were subject to criminal proceedings and on 14 October 2015 he plead guilty at Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire Magistrates Court  to 14 offences for which he was given a conditional discharge for 18 months and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.

The Committee considered that a suspension from the Register would be in line with the seriousness of the charges against Mr Evans. Professor Alistair Barr, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "The Committee agrees that the lengthy period over which these offences took place, his betrayal of his colleague, and the undermining of the reputation of the profession and of the system of disease control, taken together with his dishonesty, make it impossible to impose a lesser sanction than suspension.

"The Committee finds that the respondent, who is a man of good character, has fully accepted his guilt, and has real insight into the seriousness of his conduct. He cooperated fully with the investigations and with the County Council who prosecuted him in the Magistrates [Court], and with the College. He made an open and frank admission about his misconduct from the outset.

"The course of conduct on which he embarked and which has led to these charges was the result of a simple mistake at a time of considerable stress to him. He was not guilty of deliberate misconduct at the outset but… what started as an innocent mistake took on a life of its own and led him to deliberate and dishonest misconduct because he did not know how to get himself out of the predicament he was in."

Professor Barr also said that there was no financial gain in Mr Evans’ actions and that animal welfare had not been compromised as the cattle were well cared for and in good health and that Mr Evans’ actions in carrying out the tuberculin tests on the unregistered cattle himself demonstrated that he was concerned about identifying any disease in his herd.

He added: “In all the circumstances the Committee has decided a proportionate sanction is that the respondent’s registration should be suspended for a period of six months.”

The Committee’s full findings and decision are available on the RCVS website (www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary).

Six individuals have been announced as the winners of the second annual Ceva Animal Welfare Awards, honoured for their contributions to the prevention and reduction of animal welfare problems in the UK and abroad.

All winners were originally nominated by friends, colleagues or family. The judging panel consisted of panel chairman and veterinary surgeon Chris Laurence MBE, Ross Tiffin of the International Cat Care (formerly the Feline Advisory Bureau), Dennis Baker, OBE, Chief Executive at Wood Green, the Animal Charity and media vet, Joe Inglis. Marc Abraham also assisted in the Volunteer categories.

Dr. Pascal Raoul, Ceva's Head of Global Pharmaceuticals, said: "Ceva is delighted to host these Animal Welfare Awards as they help to highlight the incredible affection and care that people have for animals. With 6 billion people living in megacities in the future, companion animals will often be their major link to nature. The benefits that animals have on improving human health are well documented; in turn we all have a duty to protect them and this evening we have seen some of the best examples, from professionals, members of the public, young and old as to how that should be done."

Timothy Phillips, a Plymouth-based vet from the Elm Veterinary Group (above right), was awarded the Chris Laurence Vet of the Year Award for his 15 years of charitable work in the Greek Islands with Friends of the Strays of Greece. Tim performs surgeries and other treatments, helping to establish a re-homing system, with dogs fully vaccinated and declared healthy by the vets before being flown out of Greece.

Veterinary Nurse Scott Parry of Bridge Veterinary Surgery was awarded Welfare Nurse of the Year for his work with the RSPCA's Brent Knoll Animal Centre. Scott has spent hours of his own time raising funds and helping with the rehabilitation of a number of traumatised dogs. He also recently assisted in an RSPCA visit to a travellers' camp to vaccinate more than 50 dogs following an outbreak of Parvo Virus on the site.

Other award winners included Logan McKerron, aged 6, who was awarded Young Person of the Year for his fundraising for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People; Kim Taylor, co-founder of the charity Animal Care Egypt, was awarded the Charity Professional of the Year accolade for her work setting up a large animal hospital helping more than 26,000 animals every year; Faye Stacey of People4Ponies in Devon was awarded the UK Volunteer of the Year Award for the large part she has played in stopping ear cutting, notching and tagging of equines in the UK; Jen White has been named International Volunteer of the Year for her work with the Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust.