The RCVS Disciplinary Committee has postponed sanction against Oxfordshire-based veterinary surgeon, Susan Catherine Mulvey, provided she complies with a number of undertakings.

Ms Mulvey faced a number of charges relating to the treatment of a cat called Spooky: that she failed to provide Spooky’s owner, Mrs Parsons, with either Spooky’s lab results or an adequate explanation as to why they could not be provided; that she failed to respond adequately or at all to communications from Mrs Parsons; that she failed to respond to requests from the College for information relating to Continuing Professional Development (CPD), her professional indemnity insurance (PII), and her correspondence with Mrs Parsons.

At the beginning of the hearing Dr Mulvey admitted the facts to all the charges, and accepted that they constituted disgraceful conduct in a professional respect. The Committee had been provided with written evidence from Mrs Parsons, her husband, and four College staff, namely Gemma Crossley, Maria Fearon, Robert Girling and Michael Hepper.

Mrs Parsons provided a statement in which she spoke of how, in August 2016, she had taken Spooky to CornYard Veterinary Centre for a skin irritation where she was seen by Dr Mulvey.

Dr Mulvey decided to take blood tests and send them to the laboratory, but they agreed to defer them actually being tested until Mrs Parsons gave permission. Mrs Parsons then returned to the practice with Spooky to take said samples, after which followed a series of attempts to contact Dr Mulvey for the test results. Finally, in October, she demanded a refund, after which she began a small claim in County Court.

Mr Parsons went to the practice at the beginning of December 2016 and obtained the refund. At this point Mrs Parsons made a complaint to the College. The Committee received information from Mr Parsons, who corroborated the facts of the complaint, and from College staff who confirmed the many attempts to contact Dr Mulvey, starting with requests for documents by Ms Crossley and Ms Fearon, repeated requests for CPD and PII information from Mr Girling, and finally a hand-delivered letter by Mr Hepper, during which he learnt that her PII had lapsed at the beginning of 2017.

The College submitted that Dr Mulvey’s conduct fell far below the standard expected of a veterinary surgeon. It submitted that failing to provide the test results and communicate with the Parsons could have had a negative impact on animal welfare and damaged the reputation of the profession, while having PII is a fundamental obligation of the RCVS Code of Professional Conduct. Finally, not responding to the College about the concern raised, CPD or PII compromised the College’s ability to maintain public confidence in its regulatory processes.

The Committee considered that no harm had actually come to Spooky and that there were problems with the testing laboratory which slowed down the process. In addition, some of the lack of communication was due to a receptionist not following protocol, and Dr Mulvey was going through a particularly difficult part of her life and was clinically understaffed. The Committee heard from four different character witnesses, and were given 16 more written testimonials.

The Committee heard that in 2013 there had been complaints from three separate clients, all of which concerned Dr Mulvey’s failure to communicate and to process insurance claim forms, after which she agreed to participate in the Performance Protocol and entered into undertakings with the College. 

The Committee having considered all the facts and background circumstances found that Dr Mulvey’s conduct was disgraceful in a professional respect.

The Committee went on to consider what sanction was appropriate. In reaching its decision the Committee took into account a number of aggravating factors, namely that there was a slight risk to the health of Spooky and that the disgraceful conduct occurred over a prolonged period of time. The Committee also considered that there was blatant disregard of the role of the RCVS and the systems regulating the profession. 

In determining the sanction the Committee also considered mitigating factors, including that Dr Mulvey, apart from those previous concerns, had a long and unblemished career and that she’s made a huge difference to the health of the animals within her care. She also admitted her shortcomings, and had very impressive references.

The Committee therefore determined to postpone its decision on sanction for a period of one year on condition that Dr Mulvey enter into the following undertakings:

1. To agree to the appointment of a veterinary surgeon as a work place supervisor by the College and meet with them at least once every month

2. Allow the supervisor access to all aspects of running of the practice and to implement any recommendations made by the supervisor relating to the administration of the practice and the provision of out of hours’ cover.

3. To allow the supervisor to provide a report in relation to the matters set out in 2 above to the RCVS at least one month before the resumed hearing of this case.

4. To appoint within two months an experienced Practice Manager (who does not need to be full time).

5. To enrol in the voluntary Practices Standards Scheme and to achieve the Core standards of the Scheme within the next 12 months.

6. To submit a plan to the supervisor of CPD for the next twelve months within one month of agreeing to these undertakings. The plan should then be implemented and shall include aspects of practice management.

7. To pay all of the costs of complying with the undertakings, with the exception of the costs associated with the appointment and performance of the supervisor. 

Ian Green, chairing the Disciplinary Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "The Committee recognised that Dr Mulvey has been subject to undertakings before and yet committed the disgraceful conduct the subject of this inquiry. But it bore in mind the context of that conduct and it observes that the undertakings previously imposed in reality address a particular aspect of her practice.

"This Committee hopes that when the matter is relisted before it, the Respondent will be able to demonstrate that she has finally been able to address her administrative shortcomings. If she cannot do so, she will know that the Committee that sits on her case at the resumed hearing is likely to have more restricted options for disposal of her case."

Jurox (UK) Ltd, maker of Alfaxan, has launched Anaesthesia1ST, a fortnightly electronic newsletter containing articles designed to help veterinary professionals deliver 1st class anaesthesia for their patients.

The newsletter will include anaesthesia updates, bulletins and recaps, access to videos and downloadable resources.

Articles in Anaesthesia1ST are being written by Jurox’s technical advisors in collaboration with anaesthesia specialists such as Carl Bradbrook (European Veterinary Specialist in Anaesthesia and Analgesia and an RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia) and Ian Self (European Specialist in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, Associate Professor in Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham).

The first newsletter launched on 15^th May and included: ‘Capnography I – not just a load of hot air’, ‘Perspectives on premeds – Alpha-2 agonists’ and ‘What’s new in anaesthesia? Highlights of recent preoxygenation paper’. 

Articles in future editions will include: ‘Capnography II – what happened to the elephants?’, ‘Pain, what a pain! Local and regional nerve blocks improve outcomes and welfare of patients’, “The Big Chill – temperature management in sedated and anaesthetised patients’ and ‘Perspectives on premeds – a complete series of articles covering the ins and outs of the different agents, how they compare and recommended use in the different patient types’. 

Jurox says that downloadable resources will include a capnography cheat-sheet detailing different traces and their meaning, premedication drugs comparison tables and pre and post rabbit anaesthesia check-lists.

Richard Beckwith, country manager of Jurox (UK) Ltd, said: "We take great pride in our investment in educational initiatives to enable veterinary professionals to deliver best practice anaesthesia to their clients.  The new Anaesthesia1ST newsletter further demonstrates our commitment to educational support resources to enable veterinary professionals to attain and maintain 1^ST class anaesthesia for all patients."

To sign up to the Anaesthesia1ST newsletter, click here, visit the Alfaxan website – www.alfaxan.co.uk, contact your local Jurox technical sales representative or email Jurox at: info@jurox.co.uk.

The BSAVA has released the second edition of its Manual of Canine and Feline Head, Neck and Thoracic Surgery.

The original editorial team of Daniel Brockman and David Holt has been joined by Gert ter Haar to produce a new edition which considers the substantial progress that has been made in this important field, including the challenges of treating airway abnormalities linked to brachycephalism, the constraints of complex bony anatomy and rich vascularity of the head when performing radical surgery, and the treatment of trauma.

The book includes a number of new techniques, including dorsal rhinotomy and total ear canal ablation.

The BSAVA says operative techniques, instructive photographs and full-colour illustrations remain a key feature of the manual, which is aimed at the general veterinary practitioner.

The BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Head, Neck and Thoracic Surgery, 2nd edition is available from the BSAVA website: www.bsava.com or by phone: 01452 726700.

Researchers at the Royal Veterinary College report that they've made a significant breakthrough in the search for a durable treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

Working in collaboration with researchers at University of Texas, Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, the team has succeeded in using gene editing techniques on dogs to restore the expression of the dystrophin protein that is absent in DMD patients’ muscles to levels that could be life changing.

DMD is the most common, fatal, genetic disease that affects children. The same disorder also occurs in many dog breeds. It is caused by mutations in the gene that encodes dystrophin, a crucial protein that helps protect muscle fibres and the heart when they contract. Patients with the disease produce effectively no dystrophin protein, so their muscles and heart become damaged during contraction, leading to inability to walk, skeletal deformities, breathing problems and heart failure. Patients with DMD have a life expectancy that does not go far beyond their twenties.

Researchers say that this preliminary research, published in Science, demonstrates an approach that could lead to an effective, in principle one-time treatment for DMD for the most common genetic mutations affecting human patients. Through a single intravenous injection, researchers have been able to modify the dystrophin gene in many muscles of the body, including the heart, with the result that some muscles now had almost the normal amounts of dystrophin protein.

The team, led by Eric Olson, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at UTSW Medical Center and founder and chief science advisor of Exonics Therapeutics, and Richard Piercy, Ph.D., MRCVS, Professor of Comparative Neuromuscular Disease at the RVC, identified a naturally-occurring mutation in the dystrophin gene in a dog brought to the RVC’s Small Animal Referral Hospital.

Working now with relatives of this first dog, the combined group has used a technique called ‘SingleCut CRISPR gene editing’, where the researchers target a specific region of the subject’s own DNA. Harmless viruses encoding the gene-editing protein CRISPR/Cas9 were used to express the enzyme in muscle to cut the dogs’ own DNA at a precise location in the dystrophin gene through use of a molecular guide. The body’s own processes then repair the cut, which results in removing the negative effects of the existing mutation.

The researchers have demonstrated that dogs treated in this way had restored ability to produce large amounts of the dystrophin protein in their muscles and heart, and in the dog with the highest dose, cardiac muscles were found to have restored dystrophin protein to up to 92% of normal amounts after the single treatment.

The team believes this is the first time that this form of gene editing therapy has been conducted after birth in an animal larger than a rodent. With further longer-term research, efficacy and safety testing, it is hoped that this breakthrough will have human application. This treatment may be a significant step toward developing a gene editing therapy to repair genetic mutations for DMD, as well as a range of diseases caused by genetic mutations.   

Richard Piercy, Professor of Comparative Neuromuscular Disease at the RVC, said: "Researchers have been looking for an effective and durable treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy for many years. This SingleCut gene editing approach, pioneered by Dr. Eric Olson’s group, has the potential to be a one-time treatment that could restore dystrophin protein. It is hugely exciting that through a single intravenous injection we’ve been able successfully to modify the dogs’ own DNA so they start generating dystrophin protein again. There is more work to be done, but with this exciting breakthrough, we feel we are a significant step closer to finding an effective treatment.

"A great many genetic diseases affect humans, dogs and other species - many, like DMD - with tragic consequences and this form of gene editing treatment might well be applicable in many of them. We’re hopeful that we’re paving the way for future research into treating some of the most serious genetic conditions that affect us today."

York-based Dr Michael Richard Jones has been suspended by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee for two months, for making dishonest entries in horse passports and subsequently making dishonest entries in the same horses’ clinical records.

The Disciplinary Committee heard three charges against Dr Jones.

The first and second charges were that, in March 2018, Dr Jones made signed entries in the passports and made corresponding entries in clinical records of four horses indicating that he had administered an influenza vaccination booster to each horse on 15 March 2018 and in relation to another horse a tetanus booster, when in fact he had administered the vaccination boosters on 21 March 2018, and that his conduct was misleading, dishonest and undermined the integrity of a vaccination process designed to promote animal welfare.

The third charge was that, on or around 21 March 2018, Dr Jones failed to make any entries in the clinical records for a horse in relation to an examination on 21 March 2018.

At the outset of the hearing Dr Jones admitted the facts in the first and second charges, and accepted that his actions were misleading, dishonest and that they undermined the integrity of a vaccination process. However, he disputed certain aspects of the written statements of the College’s witnesses. In particular he wanted his conduct to be taken in the context of the pressures that he was working under on that day, primarily that he was in a stressed state having had to euthanase a valuable stallion at the conclusion of his previous client appointment.

Dr Jones did not admit the third charge, explaining that he did not remember examining the horse on 21 March 2018 as alleged.

Based on Dr Jones' own admissions, the Committee found the first and second charges proven. 

Regarding the third charge, the Committee heard evidence from the horse’s owner who said they were present during the examination taking place and the Committee was satisfied that the respondent did examine the horse on 21 March 2018 and that he had a duty to make a brief clinical note on the examination. As Dr Jones admitted that he made no such note, the Committee found the charge to have been proven to the requisite standard.

Having found the charges proven, the Committee then went on to consider whether or not Dr Jones’ proven conduct amounted to serious professional misconduct. The Committee, having considered the aggravating and mitigating factors, found that Dr Jones’ conduct as found proved in relation to both charges one and two, did constitute serious professional misconduct.

However, with regards to charge three, the Committee accepted that the respondent simply forgot that he had examined the horse and, therefore, the Committee was not satisfied that the failure to compile a record entry covering the horse’s examination constituted serious professional misconduct.

The Committee then considered what sanction to impose on Dr Jones in relation to the facts found proven in charges one and two. In doing so it took into account the 78 written testimonials and 4 character witnesses called on behalf of Dr Jones.

Ian Green, who chaired the Committee and spoke on its behalf, said: "The Committee’s decision on sanction has been based on an acceptance that the respondent’s conduct on this occasion was out-of-character, as the evidence of his character witnesses and the contents of the letters submitted in his support by his clients and other veterinary colleagues assert. The Committee also accepts that the respondent self-reported himself to his employer and to the College and has made a full and frank admission of his wrongdoing.

"Consideration was given to whether the sanction of a reprimand and/or warning as to future conduct would adequately reflect the gravity of the misconduct, however, after careful reflection it was concluded that such a sanction could not be justified. The reason is that acts of falsification involve acts of dishonesty by a professional person acting in a professional capacity, and the gravity of the matter arises not simply from the dishonesty but also from the possible consequences of the false certification. It should be clearly understood by members of the veterinary profession that, in appropriate false certification cases, the sanction of removal from the Register is one which may well be imposed."

The Committee therefore decided that suspending Dr Jones from the Register for two months would be the most appropriate sanction.

Pavels Antonovs MRCVS, a Humberside-based locum veterinary surgeon, has been reprimanded by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee for working whilst under the influence of alcohol.

Mr Antonovs faced three charges.

The first was that in September 2020 whilst in practice at Beverley Vets4Pets, he attended work when under the influence of alcohol.

The second was that between September and December 2020, whilst at Peel Veterinary Clinic, he attended work on two occasions when under the influence of alcohol.

The final charge was that between February 2021 and February 2023, Mr Antonovs failed to respond adequately to requests from the RCVS regarding concerns raised about his conduct and/or health.

Mr Antonovs admitted the facts of the charges and the Committee decided that the facts amounted to serious professional misconduct.

The Committee therefore decided, in the particular circumstances of this case, to impose a reprimand and warning as to his future conduct on the basis that it would be proportionate in order to maintain public confidence in the profession and uphold proper standards of conduct and behaviour.

The full details of the hearing and the Committee’s decision can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary

The BSAVA has published Cognitive Aids for Anaesthesia in Small Animal Practice, a new guide that should help any veterinary surgical team to reduce the incidence of anaesthetic complications.

Cognitive aids are visual prompts that aim to reduce human error in critical processes by providing a supportive framework that ensures tasks are performed and communicated appropriately. They are designed for use whilst a task is being undertaken and enable individuals to concentrate on problem-solving and decision-making.

The BSAVA Cognitive Aids for Anaesthesia in Small Animal Practice, written by veterinary anaesthesia specialist Matt McMillan, includes both routine checklists, such as pre-anaesthetic assessment, equipment checks and postoperative handover, and crisis checklists for potential complications that may be encountered during surgery, such as hypotension, bradycardia and haemorrhage.

The guide also includes downloadable forms, which can be used in practice to ensure safety checks are completed and help improve clinical outcomes (available from www.bsavalibrary.com).

Ian Self, Principal Clinical Anaesthetist at the University of Cambridge Department for Veterinary Medicine said: "This handbook should be viewed as a ‘second pair of eyes’ throughout a procedure, especially if an anaesthetised patient deteriorates; consider it as having an experienced anaesthetist looking over your shoulder offering words of advice… I am very happy to endorse this exciting new BSAVA resource."

The BSAVA Cognitive Aids for Anaesthesia in Small Animal Practice is now available from the BSAVA website (www.bsava.com/shop) or by phone on 01452 726700 (£25; BSAVA members: £15).

Vets Now has launched a new small animal surgical residency programme following a recent £1.5m expansion at its Glasgow hospital.

The expansion, which was completed last year, added a whole floor dedicated to emergency and critical care, a new specialist oncology treatment area and additional theatre space.

Davinia Arnott (pictured right), a European and RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Surgery, is leading the new residency programme. She said: "To be awarded the ability to run a residency, you have to be accredited to the highest possible standard, and there is a range of stringent ECVS criteria that we needed to meet.

"We were able to put ourselves forward following the expansion of our hospital and all the new facilities we have added. We are all really proud to be in a position to offer this new small animal surgical residency.

"We now have four theatres so we can do multiple surgeries at the same time, allowing us to greatly increase our caseload. We can also do fluoroscopy for orthopaedics and soft tissue. We just didn’t have that capability before.

"To achieve specialist status, the standard is exceptionally high so we’ll only have one resident every three years. This is to ensure they’re mentored and guided properly throughout."

Leo Roses is the first small animal surgery resident to join the new Vets Now programme. She began her three-year tenure in January after completing a surgical internship in the hospital. Leo, who is originally from Majorca and has also worked for Vets4Pets, Fitzpatrick and PDSA, is realising a long-held dream by embarking on a surgery residency.

She said: "I realised during my degree that I wanted to specialise in surgery. I did two surgical internships before coming to Glasgow to do a third. I applied for a position here because I was aware of the incredible reputation of the surgeons and had been told they were really keen to teach."

The British Medical Ultrasound Society is inviting vets to come to its Annual Scientific Medical Ultrasound Conference in Harrogate on the 12th December, where it will be running a veterinary stream aimed at veterinary GPs with an interest in ultrasound.

Lecture topics will include interesting cases, the importance of systematic abdominal technique, the challenge of becoming ultrasound competent within a primary referral setting, basic anaesthetic nerve blocks, using ultrasound for appropriate medical management, how CASE can support competency based veterinary ultrasound training and more.

The session will end with a debate on whether it is time for a formal / stand alone Veterinary Ultrasound training programme and who should accredit such courses.

Speakers include Natasha Dickinson from Cave Veterinary Specialists, Niamh Casey from Village Vets, Miguel Martinez from Northwest Veterinary Specialists, Will Humphreys from the University of Liverpool and Nuala Summerfield from Virtual Veterinary Specialists.

The day costs £75 (sounds like a steal, if you ask me), and you can register here: https://www.bmus.org/meeting-booking/ultrasound-2019/

West Midlands-based Willows Veterinary Centre & Referral Service has been announced as the winner of VetHelpDirect.com's Best UK Vet Awards 2020.

The awards are based on more than 11,000 pet owner reviews submitted to VetHelpDirect.com over the past 12 months.

The reviews cover 2,500 veterinary practices around the UK, with awards given to the practices with the highest number of four and five-star reviews from customers.

Tracey Morley Jewkes, Managing Director of Willows, said: “I am so proud of our team here and it’s fantastic to have won such a prestigious award based on client reviews.

"It was fabulous to receive such wonderful feedback as part of this award process. Our team at Willows is one of the best in the world, and we continue to strive for excellence in all that we do, providing the very highest standards of veterinary care to our patients, their owners and our referring vets."

Susie Samuel, managing director of VetHelpDirect.com, said: “The Best UK Vet awards are now in their eighth year and are a fantastic way to illustrate the strength of veterinary care in the UK.

“The awards are based on real-time customer reviews written over the past calendar year and recognise the very best veterinary practitioners.

“For animal owners, choosing a vet can be an anxious time, having access to reviews from other owners cuts down that anxiety. A vet who has been positively reviewed a number of times by different owners is clearly trusted and we know this provides peace of mind for new customers.

"The awards are categorised by geographical region, and also by type of practice and we have been delighted by the diversity of practices reviewed positively by their customers this year."

The silver award went to St Anne's Veterinary Group and the bronze award winning practice was Mayow Veterinary Surgery.

Photo: Toby Gemmill, Willows clinical director, Deputy Mayor of Solihull, Councillor Flo Nash, Tracey Morley Jewkes, managing director of Willows and Susie Samuels, founder and CEO VetHelpDirect

The RCVS has announced the results of the 2021 Council election in which Danny Chambers MRCVS, founder of the Facebook group Veterinary Voices, achieved the largest number of votes in the College's 177 year history. 

Fourteen veterinary surgeons stood for election this year and 8,542 voted, a turnout of 24.5% of eligible voters. That compares with a turnout of 26.2% in 2020, 25.5% in 2019 and 22.7% in 2018. 

Danny scored a total of 4,759 votes, leaving the other successful candidates Tshidi Gardiner, Colin Whiting and Louise Allum nevertheless trailing in his wake, with 3,228 votes, 2,957 votes and 2,368 votes respectively. 

The VN Council election also had fourteen candidates standing for one elected place, the other having been taken by Susan Howarth RVN who was automatically re-elected as the only candidate standing at the time of the original deadline in January. 

Donna Lewis was elected with 404 votes from those cast by 2,341 veterinary nurses, which amounted to a turnout of 12.4% of eligible voters. That compares with a turnout of 17.1% in 2020, 14.5% in 2017 and 10.9% in 2016. 

All of those elected to either RCVS or VN Councils will formally take up their seats at the RCVS Annual General Meeting on Friday 9 July 2021.

Eleanor Ferguson, RCVS Registrar and Returning Officer for both elections, said: “Thank you to all those who stood as candidates and all those who voted in this year’s elections, especially in view of all the extra demands on everyone’s time at the moment. Many congratulations to our five successful candidates with whom we look forward to working over the coming months and years. 

“Even though the elections were held during the ongoing pandemic, the RCVS Council election still produced the third highest turnout on record, and turnout in both elections was above the average for those held over the last ten years.

“As always, we made concerted efforts to let people know about this year’s election, which included additional reminder emails sent on behalf of the RCVS by our election provider Civica Election Services, as well as regular email reminders and social media posts from the RCVS. We do, of course, always endeavour to improve turnout, and will continue to review this going forward.”

Photo: Left to right, Danny Chambers, Tshidi Gardiner, Colin Whiting and Louise Allum.

The race to become the cuddliest, fluffiest, puppy-friendly political party got a little bit closer yesterday as Labour launched a 50 point draft policy document outlining its plans for action on animal welfare.

Titled 'Animal Welfare For The Many, Not The Few' (uh?), the policy proposes appointing an Animal Welfare Commissioner to ensure Government policy across Whitehall is informed by the latest scientific evidence on animal sentience.

The proposed policies in the document include a number of things the Conservatives have already been working on, such as:

• Prohibiting the third party sale of puppies. All puppies will need to be sold with their mother on site.

• Increasing maximum sentences for those convicted of animal cruelty.

• Introducing mandatory CCTV in all slaughterhouses.

• Enshrining the principle of animal sentience in law, covering all policy areas to prevent practices that expose animals to cruel and degrading treatment.

• Introducing a ban on ivory trading.

However, Labour propose a number of additional ideas which are now open for a public consultation, including:

• Improving accessibility to vets for those on low incomes/receiving financial support, working with organisations like the PDSA to explore how access to affordable vet care can be expanded.

• Banning the use of animal shock collars, including sale and importation.

• Expanding mandatory microchipping to cats.

• Consulting with landlords and tenants on the ability for tenants to keep pets as default unless there is evidence that the animal is causing a nuisance.

• Ending the badger cull.

• Strengthening the Hunting Act, closing loopholes that allow for illegal hunting of foxes and hares.

• Banning Foie Gras (which the Conservatives say is impossible under EU rules which Labour has said it wishes to continue following post-Brexit) 

• Mandatory labelling of domestic and imported meat, including country of origin, method of production and slaughter (stun or non-stun)

• Requiring motorists to report accidents where an animal has been injured.

• Banning wild animals in circuses.

Sue Hayman MP, Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary, said: "Labour is the party of animal welfare. From bringing in the ban on fox hunting to tightening the rules on the transport of live animals, Labour has always been consistent in our leadership on matters of animal welfare.

"Today we’re making proposals for real, long-term progress. Our vision is one where no animal is made to suffer unnecessary pain and we continue to drive up standards and practice in line with the most recent advances and understanding."

Conservative MP Steve Double said: "Labour are belatedly playing catch-up with the huge progress made by this Government on animal welfare.

However, Labour wouldn’t even be able to deliver some of these promises because they want to keep following EU rules after Brexit.

From introducing mandatory CCTV into slaughter houses to increasing the maximum sentence for animal cruelty ten-fold, the Conservatives will continue taking the action needed to ensure animals receive the proper protection they deserve."