New research published in Veterinary Record has highlighted serious shortcomings in how UK veterinary workplaces support colleagues affected by miscarriage, infertility and assisted fertility.

The mixed-methods survey of 525 veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses found that while some employers offered thoughtful and effective support, more than one in five respondents had left — or wanted to leave — their role as a direct result of how their situation was managed.

Participants described experiences including being expected to continue clinical duties while actively miscarrying, limited or no time off for fertility treatment or bereavement, breaches of medical confidentiality, and dismissive comments from colleagues.

Concerns were also raised about exposure to anaesthetic gases, heavy lifting and workplace stress, particularly when trying to conceive or during pregnancy following a previous loss.

Some male veterinary professionals reported being unable to take time off to support hospitalised partners or to grieve.

Crucially, respondents who recalled receiving any form of workplace support were five times less likely to subsequently want to leave their job than those who reported no support at all.

Positive experiences were often linked to relatively small actions, such as kind words or a card, or workload adjustments and time away from work.

Study participants recommended improved education, clearer workplace policies, and increased paid leave for bereavement and fertility treatment.

The study was led by four vets under the umbrella of the VetMINDS Research Team and funded for open access by the British Veterinary Association.

Lead author Jenny Stavisky MRCVS said the findings highlighted how deeply the issue resonated with veterinary professionals, and expressed hope that more open discussion would help avoid compounding the pain experienced by those affected.

The study authors also note that whilst many veterinary employers offer discretionary accommodations, there is no current legislative requirement.

However, under proposed changes to the law there will be a statutory entitlement to bereavement leave following miscarriage, something which is subject to a Government consultation which can be accessed here: Make Work Pay: leave for bereavement including pregnancy loss - GOV.UK

Reference

1. Stavisky J, Scroggie N, Collinson A, Belshaw Z. “For three of my four miscarriages I was at work…” Experiences of miscarriage, infertility and assisted fertility in veterinary workplaces. Vet Rec. 2026; e1–e16. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.70339

Researchers at the Waltham Petcare Science Institute have developed a new AI risk assessment model which may in the future help veterinary teams better predict canine periodontal disease.

Published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, the model is a "hybrid causal Bayesian network" designed to enhance existing tools by analysing complex relationships between risk factors¹.

It combines data from electronic health records, owner questionnaires, previous studies and veterinarian expertise.

Waltham says the model confirms the importance of risk factors including breed and size, age, head shape and quality of home dental care, and quantifies the probability of a dog having periodontal disease based on the presence of these factors.

Dr Stephen Makin, Vice President Waltham Petcare Science Institute, said: "This breakthrough is more than just a scientific achievement; it's a potential game-changer for canine oral health.

"Supported by AI, we are moving from detection to prediction, empowering veterinarians and owners with the ability to provide proactive and personalised oral care.

"This could fundamentally change the health and wellbeing of our canine companions."

The new model is now being used within the Linnaeus group to flag risk for newly-registered clients.

It has also been deployed on a risk checker at: https://www.uk.pedigree.com/gum-disease-risk-checker.

In both cases, Linnaeus says the objective is to get information to pet owners earlier, particularly for breeds where risk is substantially higher, to help drive early preventive care. 

However, the company says this is only a fraction of what this kind of foundational model can do, and that it is exploring a range of further applications — including how it might work in combination with other clinical tools and diagnostics to support decision-making more directly at the point of care.

Reference

1. O’Flynn C, Wright H, O’Rourke A, Harding A, Williams T, Wallis C, Harvey C, Constantaras M and Fenton N (2026) Risk assessment for canine periodontal disease using a hybrid causal Bayesian network. Front. Vet. Sci. 13:1781228. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2026.1781228 

The Purina Institute has announced that its Global Summit 2026 – a free two-day virtual CPD event on 27-28 May 2026 – will focus on preventive care and client communication.

In particular, the event will highlight how the veterinary profession can shift from a model focused on reactive treatment to one centred on proactive, preventive care, strengthening the human–animal bond, improving vet–client partnerships, and supporting longer, healthier lives for pets. 

Speakers at the summit include: 

• Dr James A. Serpell of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, who will deliver a session on the origins of the human–animal bond.
• Dr Gregory Berns of Emory University, who will discuss using functional MRI to decode what dogs really think and feel.
• Dr Zoe Belshaw, an RCVS and European Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Medicine, who will examine differences in clients' and veterinarians' perceptions of preventive care.
• Dr Kit Delgado, faculty director of the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit, who will present on diagnosing and designing for better preventive care decisions with insights from behavioural economics.
• Dr Jason Coe of the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College, who will lead a session on reframing how to communicate the value of preventive veterinary care.
• Dr Alison Lambert of Onswitch will examine the partnership between clients and the veterinary healthcare team.

Daniel Rodes, Innovation and Renovation Lead at Purina Europe, said: "Pet owners increasingly expect personalised, preventive care shaped around the human-animal bond.

"The Purina Institute Global Summit will equip veterinary teams with practical communication strategies and emerging tools to improve client adherence and ultimately deliver better long-term patient outcomes."

All presentations will be available free for veterinary professionals to view later on demand, and provide up to 8.5 hours of CPD.

Live translations will also be available.

https://globalsummit2026.purinainstitute.com 

Zoetis is asking equine practices to help with the development of new tools to assess health-related quality of life in horses, by asking clients to complete a short (5-8 mins) prototype survey.

Veterinary surgeons will also be asked to verify each horse’s health status via a brief questionnaire (around 4 minutes). 

The results of the questionnaires will be used to develop a scoring algorithm to measure the impact of health on a horse’s quality of life.

Zoetis says support from the veterinary profession is going to be pivotal to its ability to deliver a valid and reliable measurement tool, one that has the potential to transform the welfare of horses worldwide. 

To that end, vets who contribute will gain early insight into a scientifically validated HRQL instrument designed to:

• Enhance clinical decision-making by providing an objective measure of a horse’s well-being.
• Improve client communication with clear, evidence-based data on quality of life.
• Support preventive care and treatment planning through better monitoring of health outcomes.

If you would like to participate, of if you would like more information contact Dr Cory Noble at cory.noble@zoetis.com.

Just Exotics is hosting its Virtual Conference 2026 online (via Zoom), on 16–17 May 2026, offering 16 hours of exotic CPD for veterinary surgeons.

The programme includes lectures by recognised experts in exotic animal and aquatic medicine.

Topics include “Ferret Emergencies: A Practical Approach to the Critical Patient”, “Hoppy Rabbits – The Role of the Veterinary Nurse in Creating a Rabbit-Friendly Practice”, “That’s a Lot of Axolotl!” – Care and Common Conditions of Axolotls”, and “No Vein, No Gain: Catheters, Intubation and Minimising Blood Loss in Exotic Surgery”.

The conference includes live Q&A sessions with speakers.

All sessions will be recorded, with access provided to attendees after the event.

A Zoom link will be sent to registered delegates in the week before the event.

Ticket sales end 14 May 2026.

Tickets cost £200.

https://justexoticsevents.co.uk/product/16th-17th-may-2026-just-exotics-virtual-conference-2026 

The British Equine Veterinary Association has published new resources to help vets provide appropriate treatment to any UK equid when an owner or keeper cannot be identified. 

The new online resources have been compiled by BEVA in collaboration with the RSPCA, World Horse Welfare, the SSPCA and the National Equine Crime Group, together with national Police and Local Authority representatives. 

BEVA President Imogen Burrows said: “It can be an intimidating process when visiting an equid without an owner, but our new resources aim to address the potential stress factor and make the rules around the provision of care very clearcut.

“We have produced all the documents the attending vet should need, no matter their location or circumstances. 

"Most importantly, if they are attending alone, they will know how to access the right help at the right time, secure in the knowledge that they are following appropriate, validated procedures.”

The resources include a decision tree for quick checking correct procedures, an overview of stakeholder roles and responsibilities, a ‘what if’ section for troubleshooting and an essential contacts registry.

There are also examination and treatment worksheets, and euthanasia certification forms.

Imogen added: “We have put significant thought and effort into producing these new resources, especially from an ambulatory veterinary perspective.

“It should make all the difference for vets, knowing that they have the all the information they need, to hand, In the unlikely event of a callout to an equid of unknown ownership.”

https://www.beva.org.uk/Resources/Clinical-resources/Welfare-toolkit/Managing-equids-of-unknown-ownership  

The Equine Veterinary Journal editors have compiled 30 papers from international collaborations for a March 2026 special focus on equine infectious disease and microbiology, free to view for 12 weeks.

Science in brief: Equine Infectious Disease and Microbiology is edited by Julia Kydd and Celia Marr with guest editors Macarena Sanz, Tessa LeCuyer and Laura Peachey.

The issue groups papers around national disease surveillance, the need for definitive diagnosis in some infections, and cross-species comparisons for pathogens affecting multiple species.

Diagnostics papers cover techniques for equine fever, equine influenza and equine gastrointestinal parasites, with the editors noting these developments should help speed biosecurity implementation to limit transmission.

Gastrointestinal papers include metabolic profiling for earlier insights into equine proliferative disease in foals, potential colitis aetiology, and the importance of additional testing for chronic hepatitis and liver failure in hepacivirus cases.

Two antimicrobial papers address resistance, one suggesting that prophylaxis beyond 24 hours is unnecessary to prevent post-surgical complications after colic surgery.

Respiratory studies include multiple strangles papers concluding prevention needs thorough screening, consistent quarantine, close monitoring and interconnected reporting.

The section also includes a special collection on the equine microbiome, updating EVJ’s 2019 collection and flagging progress over the past seven years.

Julia Kydd said: “The considerable and diverse research efforts within this Special Focus will ultimately improve the detection, diagnosis, treatment and control of many pathogens.

“The eventual aim is to prevent or minimise the impact of future outbreaks.”

https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/20423306/2026/58/2 

University of Nottingham researchers have reported a biological quirk in domestic cats that may help explain why they are so prone to chronic kidney disease.

For the study¹, which was led by Professor David Gardner and Dr Rebecca Brociek and published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, researchers analysed opportunistically collected kidney samples from 58 domestic cats, seven domestic dogs, 24 Scottish wildcats and three zoo wildcats.

Using chemical analyses, the team discovered that cats accumulate a rare group of modified triglycerides, some with unusual chemical bonds or branched structures, that are very rarely observed in other mammals.

Dogs did not show this pattern at all, and the feral Scottish Wildcats showed it only occasionally. 

Dr Brociek said: "Why these types of unusual fats accumulate in domestic cat kidneys, even from an early age, may offer an important clue as to why domestic cats are particularly prone to chronic kidney disease, one of the most common and serious illnesses affecting older cats."

The researchers say that this distinctive lipid buildup inside kidney cells could be an early sign of long‑term stress within the kidney, potentially contributing to tissue damage over time.

Professor Gardner added: "We are hopeful that soon we will understand why these unusual fats accumulate in domestic cats - we just have to collect the evidence to find the proof.

"If true, we believe we could develop a supplement or modified diet to help prevent these unusual lipid structures from accumulating, ultimately benefitting the long-term health of our companion animals."

The discovery opens a new area of investigation into feline biology, suggesting that cats’ unique metabolism may predispose them to kidney problems. It could eventually lead to better diagnostic tools, improved diets, and new treatments for protecting cats' kidney health.

Reference

1. Brociek RA, Alborough R, Kotowska AM, Ferreira A, Martinez-Jarquin S, Walczak M, Di Bari V, Beaudoin F and Gardner DS (2026) Lipid droplets in felid kidneys: prevalence and composition by lipidomics. Front. Vet. Sci. 13:1711591. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2026.1711591

The Purina Institute is hosting 'The Intersection of Diet and Behaviour', a free one-hour webinar for vets about how diet can affect behaviour on 16 April 2026 at 6:00pm.

Julia Albright, MA, DVM, DACVB, and Martha G. Cline, DVM, DACVIM (Nutrition) will share the latest insights on how nutrition influences behaviour, cognition, and learning in dogs and cats.

https://events.purinainstitute.com/login/purinainstitute/CollaborativeCare-2026

Researchers from the Royal Veterinary College have identified new markers to look for in the early diagnosis of osteoarthritis in dogs, offering a possible route to earlier detection of a condition that affects around one in five dogs.

For the research, published in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, the team studied osteoarthritic tissues from dogs with osteoarthritis treated with total hip replacement surgery at the RVC's Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, using ultra-high-resolution micro-computed tomography to map the entire femoral head in three dimensions.

Using this technique, as opposed to more localised analysis previously conducted on human samples, researchers identified that different areas of the femoral head simultaneously responded differently.

In particular, the findings revealed that in the earliest stages of osteoarthritis, the inner regions predictably change their bone structure pattern, allowing early identification of osteoarthritis.

As the disease progresses, the dense layer of bone immediately below the joint surface becomes more porous in proportion to the increasing severity of osteoarthritis, distinguishing mild from severe changes.

The researchers say that the next step is to match these changes with clinical scans to develop improved non-invasive approaches to assessing joint health at much earlier stages of disease.

Professor Richard Meeson, Professor of Orthopaedics at the RVC, and senior author of the paper, said: "Osteoarthritis is a devastating disease affecting both people and our pets.

"Every day in our orthopaedic referral clinic, I see dogs suffering from its severe effects.

"What is truly exciting is that through our clinical work, we can transform the lives of dogs through hip replacement surgery, and we have also been able to drive forward pioneering research at the RVC.

"This research has provided new insights into the disease and, crucially, brings us closer to diagnosing osteoarthritis at a much earlier stage." 

Reference

1. Gareth M.C. Jones, Henry Mosey, Mark Hopkinson, Andrew A. Pitsillides and Richard L. Meeson, Whole bone µCT 3-dimensional mapping reveals new early imaging biomarkers of osteoarthritis. Running Title: 3D µCT Mapping Identifies OA Biomarkers, Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, (2026) doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2026.02.008 

CPD Solutions has added a Synoptic Pathway to its PgCert in Small Animal Surgery, which has been approved as an eligible postgraduate qualification for veterinary surgeons applying for RCVS Advanced Practitioner status.

The programme is a 12-month, work-based postgraduate programme for practising veterinary surgeons validated by the University of Lancashire.

The Standard PgCert Pathway remains available for vets who want to develop their small animal surgery skills, build clinical confidence and gain a postgraduate qualification without a formal final examination.

The new PgCert Synoptic Pathway is designed for vets who want their qualification to support a future application for RCVS Advanced Practitioner status.

Students on this route complete the same PgCert programme, with an additional synoptic assessment after the taught modules.

CPD Solutions says this gives them the opportunity to demonstrate integrated clinical reasoning and apply their learning to new and unfamiliar case scenarios.

Passing the Synoptic Pathway award means the qualification can be used as part of an application for RCVS Advanced Practitioner status, subject to meeting the wider RCVS criteria.

Susie Coughlan, Managing Director of CPD Solutions (pictured), said: "This is an important step for our PgCert students and for vets who want postgraduate training that is both clinically useful and professionally meaningful.

"Our Small Animal Surgery PgCert has always been built around practical confidence, clinical reasoning and reflective development.

"Our wider aim is to give vets clear, practical and university-validated postgraduate pathways that support both clinical confidence and professional recognition."

Horiba has launched Yumivet, its new veterinary diagnostics brand, and the Yumivet VH2500 haematology analyser, which gives veterinary teams a new in-house option for multispecies blood testing with results in approximately 30 seconds per test.

The Yumivet VH2500 measures 57 parameters including Complete Blood Count (CBC) with a 9-part differential, reticulocyte analysis, and dual platelet measurement methods.

The analyser enables open tube or continuous sample loading and includes pre-configured species profiles with automatic selection or easy switching between species.

It also has an intuitive touchscreen interface, a simplified reagent system, and automated quality control features.

The Yumivet VH2500 is compatible with a slide maker and stainer called Yumivet SPS, a track system called Yumizen T6000, and middleware called Yumizen P8000, and offers connection to laboratory and practice management systems (LIS/PMS).

The Yumivet VH2500 is built on a hybrid analytical platform combining electrical impedance, fluorescence, flow cytometry and spectrophotometry, which Horiba says delivers robust and reliable performance across a wide range of sample types, including challenging or low-volume samples.

https://www.horiba.com/int/veterinary/products/detail/action/show/Product/yumivet-vh2500-7004/