The six-floor building, which the College bought for £22.3m in 2022, was originally a warehouse.
Over the years it has been home to a range of businesses from leather manufacturers and papers makers to lithographic plate makers and shoe upping manufacturers, before becoming an office space.
The building remained tenanted until 2024, when £5.8m worth of renovation work to convert the building into a space suitable for a royal college began.
In addition to the working areas for RCVS and RCVS Knowledge staff, the building also has:
RCVS CEO, Lizzie Lockett, said: “After a few years in a rented co-working office space, we’re delighted to have moved into our new home, designed not only to meet the needs of College staff, but to support the broader ambitions of the RCVS as a whole.
“Our new strategic plan has collaboration at its heart – the idea of being stronger through working together – and our new building will help us to achieve that.
“Whether attending events, exploring RCVS Knowledge’s archives, using the members' area and meeting rooms, or benefitting from the outputs that the new space enables, the building has been developed with members and associates as a central focus.”
RCVS President, Linda Belton, added: "It’s great to see what’s been achieved through this project and my thanks go to the team who have managed the refurbishment and move.
“The new premises are equipped to ensure that the voice of the veterinary professions remains integral in assuring animal health, welfare, and public health in the UK, allowing for those all-important stakeholder conversations essential to setting, upholding and advancing veterinary standards.
“We look forward to welcoming members, associates, students and stakeholders alike in the coming months and years.”
The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) has launched two guides to help veterinary professionals and their clients negotiate the complexities of equine insurance.
BEVA highlights that with up to 40% of horses becoming ill or injured in any one year and 25% of insured horses having a claim in any one year, vet fees insurance is a sensible way for horse owners to budget for unexpected healthcare costs.
The Veterinary Surgeon's guide to riding and sport horse insurance provides general guidelines to help vets understand the requirements and issues relating to equine insurance. It explains the three main types of insurance cover available: veterinary fees, death and permanent loss of use, as well as insurance recommendations for pre-purchase and pre-insurance vetting. The final section contains a jargon-busting guide to commonly used insurance terminology.
Complementing the vet guide is The BEVA leisure and sports horse Insurance Guide for horse owners, a handout for clients about to embark on taking out insurance. It covers the frequently asked questions relating to vets fees and death, including when and how to insure, the importance of pre-purchase vetting, exclusions and permanent loss of use.
Andrew Harrison, Junior Vice President of BEVA, said: "Whether a vet or a horse owner, understanding equine insurance can be intimidating for the best of us. The new guides should make it easier for you and your clients to understand the finer points of policies, premiums and claim protocols."
The guides can be downloaded from the BEVA website via the following links:
For additional information visit www.beva.org.uk
The RCVS has removed 333 veterinary surgeons from the Register for non-payment of their annual renewal fees.
The final deadline for payment of the annual renewal fee passed on 31 May and the RCVS has written to those who have not paid to inform them of their removal from the Register. In 2013, 369 veterinary surgeons were removed from the Register for non-payment.
A list of the veterinary surgeons who have been removed - and who have not been subsequently restored to the Register - has today been published on the RCVS website (www.rcvs.org.uk/vetremovals2014).
This list is published to alert those veterinary surgeons who have not responded to RCVS communications to check their registration status, and to remind employers to check the registration status of their employees. The registration status of any veterinary surgeon or veterinary nurse can also be checked online at www.rcvs.org.uk/check-the-register.
Any veterinary surgeon whose name appears on the list who believes they have paid their fee should contact the RCVS Finance Department as soon as possible on 020 7202 0723.
Veterinary surgeons and employers are reminded that, under the Veterinary Surgeons Act, it is illegal to allow anyone who is not on the RCVS Register to practise veterinary surgery. They can also no longer use the postnominal 'MRCVS' and any professional indemnity insurance the veterinary surgeon may have is also rendered invalid.
Further information about restoration to the Register, and a restoration application form, can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/registration or by contacting the Registration Department on membership@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7202 0707.
In order to be restored to the Register, veterinary surgeons must pay a fee of at least £299, in addition to the outstanding annual renewal fee. The restoration fee increases each successive year a removed member remains off the Register.
The company says it estimates that 75% of its staff have periods and many will find themselves caught short without a pad or tampon when they have an earlier or heavier period than expected.
This can be very embarrassing and stressful, so tampon/towel dispensing machines are being installed in the loos at every CVS veterinary practice and site in the UK.
Helen Finney, Group HR Director at CVS, said: “We want to provide dignity and peace of mind for all of the colleagues who work at CVS.
"We wouldn't expect colleagues to have to bring their own toilet paper to work.
"So those who experience periods shouldn't fear being caught short either.
"In a busy practice it can be difficult to ask a colleague if they have a tampon or towel, or to find time to go out to buy supplies.
“By providing free period products to colleagues while at work, we are seeking to help in one small but meaningful way.”
When one stops to think about this (albeit as the male editor of a veterinary website), it is something of a wonder that it has taken this long. Helen's quote about loo paper hits the nail on the head. Why do all work loos not have period products by default?
BraveBites contains protein, fish oil (rich in omega-3) and prebiotics.
The snack, which was developed with a veterinary nutritionist, has a soft texture and high palatability.
Camille, who worked for a year at Fitzpatrick Referrals, said: “In dogs undergoing cancer treatment, decreased appetite and weight loss are common.
"They negatively affect both prognosis and quality of life.
“Owners were constantly asking what they could still give their dog when food refusal started.”
Camille says that in a field test across 40 veterinary clinics in Belgium and the Netherlands, over 95% of oncology patients accepted the snack well, with a reported improvement in appetite and quality of life
BraveBites is available direct to vets, with educational material, client brochures, and quality-of-life monitoring tools.
http://www.bravebitespetfood.com
Grahame Gardner Ltd has announced the launch of a classically styled tunic, the M559, now stocked in bottle green for the first time.
The company says that although there have been numerous ladies tunics available in bottle green, this is the first time Grahame Gardner has stocked a male tunic in the characteristic veterinary colour.
The contemporary design of the M559 incorporates side fastening with the option of contrasting epaulettes, alongside practical pockets and side slits. According to the company, it's a tunic that looks great and performs exceptionally well in the veterinary practice. Stocked in sizes from 34" to 50" (chest), the M559 is one of several new styles introduced within Grahame Gardner's latest 124 page brochure.
To explore Grahame Gardner's collection please take a look at http://www.grahamegardner.co.uk/, or call 0116 255 6326 to order a copy of the new brochure.
Inocul8 and the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), have launched vetvac.org a free new online database of information about livestock and poultry vaccines.
Currently the Vetvac database contains information on nearly 2,000 livestock vaccine products produced by more than 95 manufacturers. This included cattle, sheep, goat, pig and poultry vaccines available in the UK, Australia, Africa, India, South America and the United States. It is being expanded and updated on a continuous basis, and aims to cover all markets, providing the most complete compendium of licensed livestock vaccine products available worldwide.
The database developers say that they hope Vetvac.org will be especially useful to vaccine manufacturers and developers, and animal health professionals and livestock keepers.
Josef Geoola, Vetvac's co-founder, said: "Although there are a number of on-line databases and websites that focus on livestock vaccines, none provide the global coverage that Vetvac.org aims to achieve - our product will be unique."
A new animal welfare report by the PDSA has revealed that millions of pets are more aggressive, overweight and misunderstood than ever due to fundamental gaps in pet owners' animal welfare knowledge.
The PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) report, which captures the views of pet owners, the veterinary profession and children, reveals that 1.3 million dogs across the UK are displaying problem behaviour. It also highlights the consequences of an obesity epidemic affecting 18.5 million dogs, cats and rabbits, and draws attention to the 11.2 million pets not registered with a vet and therefore at risk of disease due to not being vaccinated or neutered.
The BVA is urging veterinary surgeons and nurses to read the report which identifies where owners are misinformed or unaware and highlights areas that everyone can work on with their clients to help achieve better wellbeing for pets.
Peter Jones, President of the BVA, said: "This is another excellent report from the PDSA offering real insight into clients' motivations. Understanding what drives owners' attitudes, as well as helping them to understand key health and welfare issues, should help us to clarify misconceptions in the consulting room and hopefully change behaviour at home.
"On the positive side, with pet obesity ever rising it is good to see that there is a slight increase in the proportion of owners starting to recognise obesity in their pets. This is, no doubt, in part due to the tireless work of charities like the PDSA and the veterinary profession as a whole.
"Sadly, despite most owners' awareness of the ill effect that bad nutrition has on their pet this has not led to them cutting out pet treats. The fact that few can identify a healthy body shape shows that much remains to be done.
"The section on preventive healthcare remains worrying with many owners seemingly not believing in the concepts of microchipping, neutering and vaccination. Vets have a real responsibility to help communicate these issues to the pet owning public for the benefit of both clients and their animals.
"The report very clearly identifies where owners are misinformed or unaware and highlights areas that vets in practice can work on with their clients to help achieve better wellbeing for pets.
"The report is very clearly laid out and well worth a read. We would encourage all vets to take a look and identify any new educational resources to promote in the practice, in newsletters and on websites in addition to the ones they already make available to clients. The AWF leaflets, the PDSA's own website, and the Education Alliance are all good starting points."
Click here for the report.
Ceva Animal Health has launched ReprodAction, a new series of webinars to help address the problems commonly faced in bovine reproduction management.
James Husband, RCVS Specialist in Cattle Health and Reproduction, kicked off the series at the beginning of November with a live webinar for XLVet members: Assessing Fertility Records.
His presentation, which is now accessible to all large animal vets at http//onsync.digitalsamba.comn/go/ceva/ReprodAction, explores the common pitfalls and provides practical pointers for good fertility management. He discusses the limiting factors of oestrus detection, use of the calving interval as an assessor of individual fertility performance, implications of the varied definitions of conception rates, use of milk recording organisation data and the usefulness of the 21 day in calf rate.
Each webinar in the series is presented by a leading expert and has a facility for live chat and question and answer sessions.
For further information and details of when the next ReprodAction webinar will be taking place, contact Ceva Animal Health on 01494 781510 or email cevauk@ceva.com.
Vétoquinol - maker of Epiphen, the anti-epileptic phenobarbital for the control of epilepsy in dogs - has added a new client brochure and a fridge magnet to its Epiphen support packs, designed to help owners understand the condition and make it easier for them to comply with daily dosage requirements.
The new brochure is called What I need to know and is written for clients that have been prescribed Epiphen for their pet for the first time.
Abbie King, Product Manager for Epiphen, said: ''The inspiration for the new brochure came after spending time at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket and realising how much information an owner needs to take in when their dog is diagnosed with epilepsy."
The new brochure covers the important information owners need to help them understand and manage their dog's epilepsy, including how Epiphen works, what they can do to help their dog, how to monitor seizures, where to find further information and frequently asked questions.
The Epiphen Treatment fridge magnet is designed as a quick reference guide to prescribing information that is needed every day when living with a dog with epilepsy. The magnet leaves space for the owner to write in their dog's name, dosage details and timings and their vet's phone number. Vétoquinol says it is especially helpful as a reference if more than one person is caring for the dog.
The new items enhance the existing Epiphen support pack, which comprises an owner manual, medication record and seizure diary, dog tags, seizure report pads, free serum level monitoring vouchers and a free, online resource at www.epiphenonline.co.uk
Vétoquinol also invites practitioners who are dealing with challenging cases to take advantage of its free Ask the expert scheme on 0800 169 8197 or email a case history to epiphen@vetoquinol.co.uk.
To order the new Epiphen support materials, ring 0800 1698197. Alternatively, visit: www.vetoquinol.co.uk to find out more.
Zoetis has launched a new training programme for veterinary practices which explores every aspect of the 'client journey' - from 'pre-owner' to 'Lost' - and explains how to deliver an outstanding client experience.
The Client Experience Development Programme is divided into nine training modules which vary in length from one to five and a half hours. The whole programme can be completed in two days under the guidance of a Zoetis business consultant.
The programme breaks down each element of the client journey, from attracting new pet owners into the practice and making the right impact on new customers, to keeping long-term customers loyal.
Nick Steele, national consulting manager at Zoetis, said: "We believe that calling a practice's pet owners clients or customers is a misnomer. They are consumers because they not only purchase a practice's products and services but they also experience them and the consumer's interpretation of their experience can really affect the brand. What's more, the reality of today's information-rich environment is that consumers can experience a practice without the practice even knowing about it.
"Google have coined the term 'Zero moment of truth', which alludes to all the different points of contact a consumer can have with a product or service before physically experiencing it. The average shopper uses 10.7 different sources of information before making a decision on what product or service to use.¹ This means they may have disregarded a practice before the practice knew the consumer even existed."
The concept of the client experience is introduced with some interesting statistics which emphasise its importance. For instance, a typical business hears from only 4% of its dissatisfied customers, 96% just go away and 91% will never come back². What's more, a dissatisfied customer will tell 9-15 people about it and approximately 13% will tell more than 20 people about their problem.³
Drawing on concepts like 'The Fred Factor', which focuses on four key principles of customer care, the training programme explains how every employee can make the difference from the moment clients arrive.
Nick added: "Consumers are all powerful to veterinary practices so it is essential that the client experience is an exceptional one. Our business consultants have been trained to deliver the Client Development Programme to all types of veterinary practice to ensure that they attract as many clients to the practice as possible and keep those clients happy once they are there."
For more information about Business Consulting from Zoetis telephone 0845 519 4977 or contact your account manager.
References
The new Tosoh AIA 900 analysers have been trialled for the last 18 months at Liphook Equine Hospital, which was the first practice to introduce ACTH testing for horses 25 years ago and gets hundreds of blood samples every week from veterinary practices all over the UK and Europe.
Professor Andy Durham, who heads up the laboratory at Liphook, said the test period has shown that the new machine produces more accurate results primarily because it’s less sensitive to ACTH degrading in blood samples between collection and receipt by the laboratory.
Andy said: “There are several analytic methods available for use in horses, and we wanted to see if this alternative machine had diagnostic benefits over the ones we’d used previously.
"The ACTH molecule we test for immediately begins to break down after a blood sample is taken, even if you handle it carefully and place it in chilled packaging, but this new analyser is able to detect much more of the degraded ACTH molecule, and therefore it gives a more accurate result.
“As a comparison, ACTH values measured using the previous method suffered about three to four times more degradation over 24 hours.
"What this means for horse owners is that it will reduce the risk of false negative results in ACTH tests, so more horses suffering from Cushing’s disease will receive the treatment they need.”
In testing, the new analysers also demonstrated greater accuracy when measuring insulin levels in blood samples.
https://liphookequinehospital.co.ukhttps://www.rainbowequinehospital.co.uk https://www.rossdales.com
The RCVS Disciplinary Committee has dismissed a case against a Nottinghamshire veterinary surgeon, having found not proven the charge that he had caused, allowed or failed to prevent a potential breach of the Rules of Racing of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB).
During the re-scheduled, three-day hearing, the Committee heard that Dr Gary Samuel was on duty on 10 October 2009 as the GBGB licensed track veterinary surgeon at Nottingham Greyhound Stadium. When the trainer came to collect her dog for the race, she discovered a biscuit in his kennel in the paddock area, in potential contravention of the rules of the GBGB, which do not allow greyhounds access to any food, drink or other substance after weighing in, prior to a race. She reported this discovery to the paddock steward. The dog was withdrawn from the race, so there was no prospect of prize money. The trainer, despite her unblemished record, was put at risk of disciplinary action by the GBGB, which could have resulted in the loss of her training licence and livelihood. Following the events of 10 October, the GBGB held a disciplinary hearing, at which Dr Samuel was disqualified indefinitely from holding a GBGB licence and fined £2,500, and the matter was referred to the College.
The RCVS Disciplinary Committee confirmed that it should not be bound by the GBGB decision, and that the charges laid against Dr Samuel must be resolved on the basis of the evidence before it. Both Counsel for Dr Samuel and the College urged the Committee to have close regard of CCTV footage from 10 October, which showed Kennel 21 where the dog had been placed and the biscuit found. From evidence given by the paddock steward and the trainer, the Committee accepted that the kennel was clean when the dog entered at 5.30pm, so the biscuit must have been introduced between 5.30pm and 9pm, when the trainer collected him for the race.
The footage available to the Committee from Nottingham Race Track was only four-and-a-half minutes long. The Committee was concerned that there were almost three-and-a-half hours of footage that it had not been shown and that, in addition, witnesses were not able to state that they had viewed the remainder of the footage. In those circumstances, the Committee considered that the footage available must be of the best quality to allow it to reach a sure conclusion as to what exactly Dr Samuel may have been doing in his position close to Kennel 21. From the quality of the footage available, the Committee was not able to be sure.
Speaking on behalf of the Disciplinary Committee, Vice-Chairman Professor Sheila Crispin said: "The fact remains that the Committee cannot be sure that the Respondent caused the biscuit to enter Kennel 21, [so] finds the charge against the Respondent not proved."
Dr Samuel therefore remains on the RCVS Register and is entitled to practise.
Ceva Animal Health has launched a new TV advertising campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of the veterinary behavioural product, Feliway.
The new advertisement, features the new 'Feliway' purple cat playing happily in the home with its family.
The advertisement will appear on the major UK channels including More 4, E4, ITV 1, Sky Channels and the Discovery Channel for one week from 16th September 2013, with an additional three weeks coverage during October 2013. Behind the scenes' footage of the filming of the advertisement can also be viewed on the Feliway YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtAXd5mReYc6JGufxRirvng?feature=watch
A Feliway video on demand and YouTube campaign will be available to viewers between 16th September 2013 and 21st October 2013 and will be repeated between 15th November 2013 and 2nd December 2013.
An Adaptil video on demand campaign will be aired between 21st October 2013 and 11th November 2013 to raise awareness of Adaptil in the run up to and during the firework season. The video on demand will be available across ITV player, Sky Anytime On Demand, 4oD and YouTube.
For more information, call 01494 781510 or contact your local Ceva territory manager.
Dan (MRCVS) & Kirsty (RVN) Forster, the husband and wife team behind Isle of Wight-based The Mobile Vet are celebrating a Queen's Award for Enterprise.
The Mobile Vet offers a mobile service in custom-designed vehicles and also has a fully-equipped surgery based in Newport where further consultations, operations and diagnostics can be performed, giving clients the option to choose between a home visit or a more traditional form of veterinary care for their pets.
News of the award landed on their doormat recently, in a letter saying: "I am delighted to inform you that Her Majesty The Queen has been graciously pleased to approve the Prime Minister's recommendation that your organisation should receive a Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation this year."
The Queen announced the winners of the awards as part of her 90th birthday celebrations yesterday, and Kirsty & Dan have been invited to Buckingham Palace to meet her at an official reception in July.
Dan said: "We have been fortunate enough to receive excellent feedback from our clients since starting our business & enjoy an immense amount of job satisfaction with the way we work. A nod from Her Majesty is truly the crowning glory for our business. It just goes to show what can be achieved with exceptional hard work and effort, the love & support of family/friends & a formidable staff. This award is for all these people that help to make our business great!
"We are very much looking forward to meeting the Queen and can't quite get our heads round it. Kirsty has spent hours looking for a dress and I am brushing up on my royal etiquette!"
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.
The International Task Force on Canine Atopic Dermatitis has published new, evidence-based guidelines for diagnosing, grading and treating Canine Atopic Dermatitis (AD).
Recently published in Veterinary Dermatology, the series of guidelines for general practitioners covers all aspects of the disease, including the recent rise in food allergy-related cases, and offers practical guidance for vets in diagnosing and grading the severity of AD.
The report also reviews the most appropriate treatment options for acute and chronic forms of the disease, and has awarded Cortavance (hydrocortisone aceponate) the best strength of evidence mark of any current treatment available.
Virbac technical director Chris Taylor MRCVS says the paper shows that Cortavance is now the benchmark for Atopic Dermatitis: "Not only do the guidelines confirm evidence of treatment success with Cortavance, but they also highlight that the skin-specific steroid spray has been shown to have no systemic effects, even when applied to one-third of the dog on a daily basis."
Chris also highlights the cost-effectiveness of Cortavance: "Some AD treatments can cost clients more than £2 per day, but with Cortavance owners are usually looking at costs of just pence per day.
"This report shows that not only is Cortavance the most effective treatment with a high safety margin, it is also surprisingly inexpensive too. And of course this should also help with compliance, particularly in uninsured animals."
The guidelines can be viewed or downloaded online free at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365.3164.2010.00889.x/pdf
Speakers at the free event will include feline expert Dr Andy Sparkes, BVetMed, PhD, DipECVIM, MANZCVS, MRCVS and the immunologist who led the Purina research behind Liveclear, Dr Ebenezer Satyaraj, PhD.
Andy will address the consequences of feline allergy. He says that in majority of cases, cat-allergic owners will choose to tolerate ongoing symptoms of allergy, rather than relinquish their cats, even when they have severe symptoms.
Ebenezer will talk about the research behind Pro Plan Liveclear and how it will allow veterinary surgeons and nurses to help support these clients.
Libby Sheridan, MVB MRCVS, Purina Veterinary Technical Affairs Manager, UK & Ireland said: "This innovation is safe for cats who continue to produce the major cat allergen, Fel d 1, which is found mainly in the cat's saliva and sebaceous glands.
"Our researchers found that the Fel d 1 protein could be neutralised through feeding a nutritious cat food coated with an innovative egg product ingredient containing anti-Fel d 1 antibodies1 which helps reduce the active allergen transferred to hair and dander during grooming, and ultimately helps reduce active Fel d 1 in the environment.2
"Now the science has resulted in a commercially available product that could have a big impact on the quality of life of the cat and their owner. We'll be sharing the research behind this at the symposium so that clinicians can evaluate the potential benefits."
Any member of the practice team can register for the event at www.veterinarywebinars.com/purina, and will be entered into a prize draw to win an iPad. There will also be a number of goody bags available as additional prizes.
More information about the science is available at www.purinainstitute.com.
To claim the free product, visit www.daxocox.co.uk/trial and use the stock selector to pick the dose sizes to suit the patients you think Daxocox could help.
Animalcare Marketing Manager James Beaumont explained: “When you consider that recent data shows that up to 20% of dogs over one year of age could have some form of OA1, the scale of problem becomes clear – as does the threat to the welfare of our canine companions from OA pain.
“Owners already giving Daxocox to their OA-affected pets, have seen first-hand how it can significantly improve their quality of life.
"90% said that their dog’s osteoarthritis improved, with 84% reporting that their dog’s quality of life improved from “poor or fair” to “good, very good or excellent.”2
James added: “In a study carried out by Animalare, 88% of owners said that weekly NSAID dosing would be easier to remember, or mean they were less likely to miss a dose or that it would control their dog’s pain more effectively.3
“Used as a first line treatment for OA, Daxocox can provide a solid foundation to long-term pain management that suits vets, dogs and their owners.
"As such, we’re confident that once practices have tried it, it will become their canine OA NSAID of choice.”
For more information, visit www.daxocox.co.uk
Founded in 1922, the practice has come a long way from the days when its founder, Tom Patterson did his rounds on a motorbike with a sidecar.
It's now a successful farm and small animal two branch practice with over 60 staff.
To celebrate its centenary, Shepton Vets published a book called '100 years of Shepton Vets' and held a large summer party.
In September, the practice will be holding a 100km fundraising cycle ride to raise money for the Farming Community Network charity.
The farm animal practice has also organised the ‘Tour de Yorkshire,’ a trip to visit three farms based in Yorkshire who are modernising and adapting their dairy businesses to be resilient and successful in the changing industry.
Senior director, Paddy Gordon, said: “Turning one hundred is important. We may have grown substantially but we haven’t lost the family and community feel. We want to bring our community, near and far along with us on this celebration.”
It may not be quite the same as a telegram from the Queen, but VetSurgeon.org wishes Shepton Vets a very Happy Birthday!
The research is being carried out by James Glass MRCVS (pictured), a PhD researcher working in the Suicide Behaviour Research Lab at the University of Glasgow, supervised by Professor Rory O'Connor - current president of the International Association for Suicide Prevention.
To take part, vets and student vets are being asked to complete a 15-25 minute survey, which must be done in one sitting.
Survey answers are strictly confidential.
Everyone is invited to participate, regardless of whether or not you have experienced suicidal thoughts, however James cautions that some of the questions may be upsetting for anyone currently experiencing suicidal feelings, and emphasises that participants are free to withdraw from the study at any point by closing the webpage, whereupon any answers already submitted with be discarded.
The study is open until 31st December 2024.
https://tinyurl.com/StudyTeamVet
The five-minute survey includes questions on the number of otitis externa cases seen in practice, consultation times, common compliance issues, cytology uptake and client behaviour change frameworks.
Completed entries will be entered into a draw for a Fortnum & Mason hamper worth £100.
Charlotte Hill, brand manager at Dechra said: “The otitis externa in dogs survey will provide us with valuable insight into vets’ experiences of the condition.
"It will also allow us to identify any trends that may exist to help us improve how we as a profession approach otitis externa, while supporting owners when treating the condition which can be frustrating to manage.
https://forms.office.com/e/J7frrbL56A
BCF Technology has launched the portable 9020HF Orange x-ray generator from Eco Ray.
BCF says the 9020HF is ideal for equine and large animal applications because it is is just marginally heavier than the 8016HF generator, but more powerful, allowing it to achieve excellent images of regions such as the stifle and spine.
The new BCF Clinical Development Manager and in-house vet Kimberly Palgrave said: "This new generator really fills the gap in the range and is an ideal balance between weight and power. It is also bright orange so impossible to miss when tidying the kit away in the yard."
BCF is also the sole official distributor in the UK and Ireland for Eco Ray generators.
To see the full range of X-ray generators and other X-ray and ultrasound equipment available from BCF visit http://www.bcftechnology.com/ or call +44 (0)1506 460023.
MSD Animal Health has reintroduced Zanil, the flukicide drench for cattle and sheep.
Based on the active ingredient oxyclozanide, MSD says Zanil is highly effective against the adult fluke responsible for chronic disease and - significantly for dairy farmers - is licensed for use in young, pregnant and lactating animals, with a 72-hour milk withhold period where milk is produced for human consumption.
MSD Animal Health veterinary advisor Matt Haslam said: "The latest independent data1 confirms that fluke is on the increase in UK cattle and sheep. The fluke problem is longstanding, but is being exacerbated by recent wet summer and autumn periods that have created ideal conditions for this parasite to proliferate and infect grazing livestock.
"Chronic liver fluke causes serious economic losses for livestock farmers. In dairy herds, for example, there will be a negative impact on fertility and milk production where cows are affected.
"It is important that farmers have access to the best treatment options given the size of the threat and the scale of potential losses. Zanil is used widely and effectively in Ireland in the control of fluke problems, and there is no known resistance to the active ingredient oxyclozanide. With its re-introduction into the country, we believe Zanil is unique as a flukicide-only treatment that is licensed for use in lactation and in the dry period for the treatment of adult fluke in dairy cows."
Zanil is an oral drench with POM-VPS authorisation, available from both animal health suppliers and veterinary practices. Dosage rate is 3ml per 10kg bodyweight in cattle, up to a maximum of 105ml, and 4.5ml per 10kg bodyweight in sheep, up to a maximum of 20ml.
Reference
See DEFRA emerging threats reports in sheep and cattle, Q1 2013: www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/files/pub-survrep-sr0113.pdf
Virbac has launched Nutribound, a complementary feed to help stimulate eating and drinking in inappetent cats and dogs.
The company says the product has been designed to help animals recovering from surgery or illness and those that are just experiencing a general lack of interest in food or water.
Nutribound is given alongside the pet’s diet but can also be given by tube or syringe if needed.
Claire Lewis, Product Manager, said: "Pets that lose interest in their food can be challenging for owners to deal with - and a pet that is struggling to eat or drink what it needs, especially after illness or surgery is more likely to have a prolonged recovery.
"Nutribound's palatable formulation aims to 'jump-start' normal eating behaviour by stimulating the animal's appetite and increasing its interest in eating and drinking again.
"Nutribound is presented in a handy-sized, take-home bottle and is easy for pet owners to administer. It can be given for up to 14 days or until a return to normal eating and drinking behaviour is observed. We are delighted to add it to our nutritional support range, alongside Nutri-Plus gel, our high energy, nutritional supplement for cats and dogs."