Vets and farmers must do more to improve dairy cow welfare in the UK, according to the British Veterinary Association (BVA). The call comes after careful consideration of major reports and opinions on the welfare of dairy cattle by FAWC (Farm Animal Welfare Council) and EFSA (European Food Safety Authority).

In a new policy statement, released last week, the BVA outlined the need for veterinary surgeons to take an active role in educating farmers and promoting better welfare, as well as working with farming clients towards a 'Herd Welfare Plan' that can be followed alongside the 'Farm Health Plan'.

The BVA says it recognises that some improvements have been made in certain welfare areas, such as longevity, but that issues relating to lameness, mastitis, housing and infectious diseases, such as TB, continue to be of concern.

Veterinary surgeons are well placed to offer help and advice in order to educate farmers on welfare aspects and how they affect herd health, productivity and ultimately, profit.

The policy also addresses issues around breeding for certain traits, which should always be discussed with a vet through a breeding plan, and the challenges of housing dairy herds. The BVA believes much can be done to achieve high welfare standards through good housing.

Finally, the BVA supports retailers who reward farmers financially for improving welfare standards for dairy cows and their calves.

Professor Bill Reilly, President of the BVA, said: "Recent reports have highlighted a number of major concerns about the welfare of dairy cows and their calves, and the BVA feels strongly that vets can take a leading role in addressing these issues.

"Lameness, mastitis, inadequate housing and infectious disease can all lead to poor welfare. Not only is this unacceptable for the animals, but it can be bad for the farmer's business.

"By working together, vets and farmers can and should do more to improve dairy cow welfare through Herd Welfare Plans, breeding plans and improved housing conditions."

Keith Cutler, President of the British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA), added: "While the UK enjoys higher standards of dairy cow welfare than many other countries, there are still some issues that need to be tackled.

"Vets and farmers need to work together to address problems.  In my experience most farmers are pleased to discuss issues with their vets and then work in conjunction to improve the health and welfare, and ultimately the productivity and profitability, of their herds."

Animal Trust, a veterinary group with nine surgeries across Yorkshire, Greater Manchester, Cheshire and North Wales, has become the first and only practice registered as a community interest company, providing a bridge between commercial veterinary care and charity provision. 

The company says that as a community interest company, it can help to bridge the gap between charities, which provide help only for those who are eligible, and commercial practices, which are becoming increasingly unaffordable as they are acquired by corporates and private equity companies.

The rules governing CIC companies mean that their assets can only be used for their social objectives and there is a limit to the money that can be distributed to shareholders: 5% above the Bank of England base rate to a maximum of 35% of profits.

Animal Trust does not charge consultation fees, so all pets are initially seen free of charge. If it turns out there’s nothing wrong, there's no charge. If treatment or medicine is required, prices are published on the website, so clients can see exactly what everything costs.

Founder Owen Monie says: “We are here to provide a comprehensive vet service for people who earn a real, living wage. We want to deliver the best access to good vet care and to remove the barriers that stop people getting care for their animals – that’s why we provide free consultations. This means pet owners can get professional advice without worrying about having to pay a consultation fee. If no treatment is needed – there’s no fee. It’s as simple as that.”

Owen says that large corporations argue they can bring better management, efficiency and innovation to the sector, and claim that costs have gone up in part due to advances in animal medicine and clients’ expectations.

"That may well be true, but big isn’t always better. In addition to its legal status as a CIC, Animal Trust lives by a set of core values (straightforward, accessible, sustainable and fair) that are becoming increasingly meaningful to customers and clients as an alternative to companies who appear to be only interested in the bottom line. There isn’t an NHS equivalent for animals – so is becoming a CIC the model that all vet practices should be looking to adopt?"

Ceva Animal Health has launched Feliway Friends, a new pheromone to help reduce tensions and conflicts in households with more than one cat.

The company highlights a 2014 survey which found that 44% of cat owning households have more than one cat, with nearly a third of those questioned stating that they had experienced fighting and aggression between pets in the household¹.

Feliway Friends is a synthetic copy of the cat appeasing pheromone (CAP) naturally produced by nursing queens to support their kittens after birth. The company says this pheromone helps cats feel safe and secure, and maintains a harmonious bond between them.

Ceva says Feliway Friends is clinically proven to significantly decrease the intensity and frequency of signs of tension in households with more than one cat. According to another study, 84% of cat owners believed there was a significant improvement in how their cats got on after using the product². 

Feliway Friends and Feliway Classic can be used at the same time if the owner is experiencing conflicts alongside other stress-related behaviour problems such as urine marking, scratch marking and general anxiety.

Available as a 30-day diffuser and refill, Feliway Friends lasts for up to 30 days and covers an area of up to 70m².  

Claire Russell, Feliway product manager at Ceva Animal Health, said: "Inter-cat aggression is a major problem in multi-cat households, with many cats experiencing stress in the home due to sharing resources. Feliway Friends is a great support to encourage harmony in multi-cat homes. By introducing the cat appeasing pheromone and educating owners on resource management and how to create a cat friendly home, we can significantly improve feline relationships in our UK multi-cat homes.’’ 

Ceva Animal Health has launched a range of marketing materials to support the launch of the new product, including an eight-page pet owner leaflet and poster. Practices can also request an online toolkit which includes: images, website content, social media assets and articles to help educate clients facing aggression between household cats. 

For information on FELIWAY visit www.feliway.com/uk. 

References

1. Feliway brand equity research, Burke 2014
2. De Porter et al. (2014) Evaluation of the efficacy of a new pheromone product versus placebo in the management of feline aggression in multi-cat households. Proceedings of the ACVB/AVSAB Veterinary Behavior Symposium pp17-18

The RCVS is now accepting nominations for its 2020 Honours & Awards, celebrating the achievements of veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and laypeople who are doing extraordinary work for the benefit of animal health and welfare, the veterinary professions and public health.

The College is seeking nominations this year for all six of its awards, all of which will be presented to the successful nominees at Royal College Day 2020, which will take place at 1 Great George Street in July 2020. These awards are:

• The Queen’s Medal: the highest honour that can be bestowed upon a veterinary surgeon for a highly distinguished career with sustained and outstanding achievements throughout.

• The Veterinary Nursing Golden Jubilee Award: for veterinary nurses who have had a sustained and distinguished career, who can demonstrate a leadership role within the profession and who can act as an ambassador for the value of veterinary nurses and their work.

• RCVS International Award: for vets, vet nurses or laypeople who work internationally in making an outstanding contribution to, for example, raising veterinary standards, veterinary education and improving animal health and welfare.

• RCVS Impact Award: for vets or vet nurses who have undertaken a project or initiative that has a significant impact on the profession at large, animal health or welfare, or public health. Such impact could have been made through any field of veterinary endeavour, including clinical practice, research, education or veterinary politics.

• RCVS Inspiration Award: for vets or vet nurses at any stage of their career who have demonstrated the ability to inspire and enthuse others consistently throughout. It is open to those who have inspired and motivated individuals anywhere within the profession and recognises those who have gone ‘above and beyond’ what may normally be expected from a professional colleague.

• Honorary Associateship: conferred on a small number of laypeople each year, in recognition of their special contribution to the veterinary sphere. It recognises the full range of individuals who contribute to the veterinary and animal health sector including scientists, lecturers, journalists, charity-workers, farriers, farmers and those involved in the commercial field.

Niall Connell, RCVS President for 2019-20, said: "2019 was particularly fruitful in terms of the number of nominations that we received for some of these awards, including the Queen’s Medal and the Impact and Inspiration Awards. In fact, those of us who had to compile the shortlist really struggled because of the sheer quality of the nominations we received and the people who were nominated.

"We hope that this will be repeated this year, and I would ask the profession to give some extra thought to making a nomination for Honorary Associateship, an award which is conferred on laypeople who are going above-and-beyond for animal welfare and the veterinary professions.

"In my veterinary career I have met many of these people: the biochemistry lecturers at vet school who gave me a passion for the science behind clinical veterinary medicine; the receptionists who were experts at talking to clients with empathy and kindness, often during distressing situations; and the volunteers who give up their precious free time to help with the smooth running of our PDSA hospital.

"I would urge everyone to have a think about who might be suitable for any of these awards, to find out more about making a nomination on the RCVS website."

To make a nomination, visit www.rcvs.org.uk/honours and click on the link for the specific award.

Applications can be made either through an online application form or by downloading a PDF application form and emailing or posting it to the RCVS.

The deadline for nominations is Friday 10 January 2020. 

For an informal talk about the awards and how to make a nomination you can contact Susie Tomlin, Executive Secretary, on s.tomlin@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7202 0761.

Photo: Dr Abdul-Jalil Mohammadzai, one of the recipients of the 2019 RCVS International Award, with the then RCVS President Amanda Boag

The RCVS has published the recording of a second webinar it held two weeks ago to help the profession better understand the forthcoming ‘under care’ guidance.

The webinar was hosted by RCVS Senior Vice-President Dr Melissa Donald, with Standards Committee Chair and Junior Vice-President Linda Belton, Registrar Eleanor Ferguson, and Head of Standards Gemma Kingswell.

The panel gave an overview of the main changes for the guidance, which comes into effect on 1st September, the considerations to take into account when prescribing POM-Vs remotely, the circumstances under which POM-Vs cannot be prescribed remotely, the prescription of antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitics, and antivirals, and how the guidance will be enforced.

The webinar also dealt with issues raised in a previous webinar, including a query about prescribing under the cascade and an update on the position when prescribing based on cultures and sensitivities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSTZKdbVD8g 

For further information about the new guidance, including a range of practice-based scenarios and FAQs, visit: https://www.rcvs.org.uk/setting-standards/advice-and-guidance/under-care-new-guidance/

Questions about the under care guidance can be sent to advice@rcvs.org.uk

The RCVS is holding a session at the London Vet Show on Saturday 23rd October from 8:30am-9:30am to provide guidance and advice concerning the work your nursing team does in practice.

As the RCVS says, the recent Panorama programme "It shouldn't happen at a vets'" was a stark reminder of the importance of ensuring that all practice staff are working within the appropriate legal framework.

The session will answer such questions as:

• Are your veterinary nursing staff working legally?
• Do their job titles mislead the public?
• Is your veterinary team delegating appropriately?
• Do you understand Schedule 3?
• Are your VN 'students' really students?

Because of the early start, the RCVS is providing breakfast from 8:15am, though I wouldn't get your hopes up for eggs benedict and freshly smoked Loch Fyne kippers.

The RCVS says the session will be relevant for all members of the practice team, but that if you can't make the session, they will be on hand to discuss VN legislation on stand M26. 

The Royal Veterinary College has published a new study exploring the frequency and risk factors for hypothyroidism in dogs in the UK.

For the study, researchers from the RVC’s VetCompass Programme identified 2,105 hypothyroidism cases diagnosed amongst a study population of 905,553 UK dogs.

This revealed an annual frequency of one case in 400 dogs (0.23%) for the condition, with the most common breeds diagnosed being Standard Doberman Pinschers (x 17.02), Tibetan Terriers (x11.25), Boxers (x10.44) and Alaskan Malamutes (x 9.71).

The average age at first diagnosis was 7.65 years. 

Other findings included:

• The most protected breeds were French Bulldog (0.27), Pug (x 0.29), Yorkshire Terrier (x 0.38), Shih-tzu (x 0.38) and Jack Russell Terrier (x 0.40).
• Two breeds had no recorded cases of hypothyroidism – Cavachon and Cavapoo.
• The risk of having hypothyroidism rose as dogs aged, with dogs aged 11-13 years at 4.54 times the risk of hypothyroidism compared with dogs aged 5-7 years.
• The risk of hypothyroidism increased as adult bodyweight increased.
• Neutered females and neutered males were more likely to be diagnosed than entire females.
• Breeds with long skull (dolichocephalic x1.35) or short skull (brachycephalic x 1.15) conformation had higher risk of hypothyroidism compared to dogs with medium length (mesocephalic) skull conformation.

Dr Rebecca Geddes, Lecturer in Small Animal Internal Medicine at the RVC Queen Mother Hospital for Animals and last author of the paper, said: “It is great to have this data from UK primary care practices, which will help highlight high risk breeds to veterinary surgeons so they can diagnose and treat affected dogs as early as possible. Hypothyroidism is usually straightforward to manage with medication that can greatly improve quality of life in affected dogs.” 

Reference

1. O’NEILL, D. G., KHOO, J. S. P., BRODBELT, D. C., CHURCH, D. B., PEGRAM, C. & GEDDES, R. F. 2022. Frequency, breed predispositions and other demographic risk factors for diagnosis of hypothyroidism in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK. Canine Medicine and Genetics, 9, 11. https://cgejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40575-022-00123-8  

John Burns MRCVS, founder of Burns Pet Nutrition has been announced as a finalist for the 2018 NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

John (pictured right) will compete against leading businessmen and women from across the country and a range of industries in the 'Entrepreneur for Good' category, designed to celebrate entrepreneurs that are pioneering ideas and business models to help drive social change.

John founded Burns Pet Nutrition in 1993, with the thinking that a healthy diet is key to managing many of the common health problems seen in pets. In fact, John reckons he's done more for pets with his line of pet food than he could have ever hoped to have achieved in general practice.

In 2008, John set up The Burns Pet Nutrition Foundation - a charity dedicated to improving the lives of people and pets across the UK. Today, the in-house charity is run by a team of six who specialise in everything from one-off donations to grassroots projects. 

One such project, Burns by Your Side, helps schoolchildren to improve their literacy and communication skills with the aid of trained volunteers and their companion dogs. The scheme is currently active in over 40 educational settings across parts of Wales and Ireland.

More recently, Burns Pet Nutrition announced a £1M charity donation to mark its 25^th year of trading. 

John said "I have decided that the company should be a force for good. I want Burns Pet Nutrition to not only be known for our natural pet food, but also for establishing and maintaining a legacy of good causes in the community."

John is in the running to win the Entrepreneur for Good award along with six other Welsh entrepreneurs. The winners will be announced on Thursday 22^nd November at a special gala final in Cardiff. 

For further information on the awards, please visit, www.greatbritishentrepreneurawards.com.

Abi Thompson, a final year student of veterinary nursing and practice management at Harper Adams University, is carrying out some interesting research to discover whether veterinary professionals’ perceptions of what is important to clients is the same as what clients say is important to them.

The surveys, which are part of Abi's honours research project, ask veterinary professionals and owners separately to place 'ability to see the same vet', 'staff friendliness', 'competency of vets and nurses', 'appointment availability' and 'appointment waiting times' in order of importance.

It also looks at whether veterinary professionals and owners think practice independence and nurses' clinics have an impact on client loyalty.

The surveys should take less than 10 minutes, and Abi has promised to share the results with VetSurgeon.org and VetNurse.co.uk in due course, so please do take part. It'll be fascinating to see whether there's a mismatch between what vets and nurses think are important, and what clients think!

The survey for veterinary professionals is here.

If you know any owners that would be interested in taking part, the survey for clients is here.

The Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance (RUMA) has announced the launch of #ColostrumIsGold, a new campaign to promote the 'liquid gold' properties of colostrum in reducing the need for antibiotics in farm animals.

The campaign, taking place in February, will underline that responsible use of antibiotics starts with newborn calves, lambs and piglets receiving the right amount of colostrum within a couple of hours of birth – something all farmers have the potential to achieve.

A number of organisations will be releasing information and promoting best practice throughout the month, mainly based around getting the 3Qs (quality, quantity and quickness) of colostrum delivery right.

The FarmAntibiotics.org information website will be signposting to these resources, as well as highlighting hints and tips for more effective colostrum management.

RUMA chairman Gwyn Jones says that as a farmer, he recognises the pressures at lambing and calving, and just how easy it can be to take shortcuts with the all-important first feed.

"But it was a wake-up call when I found out calves receiving insufficient colostrum at birth are more than twice as likely to develop respiratory disease, and can have mortality rates as high as 13%," he said. 

"Too often we see the animal start to suck or we give it a feed, and don’t think about the actual quantity of colostrum it consumes immediately after birth.

"All these factors have an enormous impact on the levels of antibodies in the bloodstream 24 hours later, and on the subsequent health of the animal and its need for antibiotic treatment during its whole life. 

"Better colostrum management is an incredible opportunity – not just to ensure better health for the future, but to cut antibiotic use and produce a more valuable animal for onward rearing."

Research manager Dr Jenny Gibbons from AHDB says their recent 'Calf to Calving' campaign focusing on youngstock rearing has seen nearly 40% of attendees go on to buy equipment to test the quality of colostrum.

Jenny said: "With recent figures from the Royal Veterinary College indicating just 31% of dairy farmers have been testing the quality of the colostrum before feeding it, this uptake is good news.

"Another area to tackle is time of feeding. Only 5% are feeding within the ideal two hours after birth. Changing these practices would make a huge difference to calves for onward beef rearing as well as replacement heifers."

Specialist sheep vet Dr Fiona Lovatt says lambs receiving insufficient colostrum at birth is behind one of the sheep industry’s biggest antibiotic use 'hotspots', in what is otherwise a low-use sector.

She said: "It’s largely avoidable. The reality is that we simply don’t see Watery Mouth in lambs that have taken sufficient colostrum on board in that golden 24-hour window immediately after birth."

Fiona says a 5kg lamb at birth needs 1 litre of colostrum in its first 24 hours of life to give it essential levels of natural immunity, but importantly, the first feed should be within two hours of birth. 

"Antibodies – essential in protecting against all disease including E coli infections – cannot cross through the placenta, so must be transferred through colostrum.

"While thin ewes or those that are not well fed in the run-up to lambing will produce too little colostrum of low quality, more often it’s simply not getting enough colostrum into the lamb quickly enough after birth."

Fiona says the sheep sector should not be relying on use of preventative antibiotics – because of image but also the very real problem of antibiotic resistance. "We know from government data that 50% of neonatal lamb E coli are already resistant to spectinomycin, the most commonly used dose. We need to protect these antibiotics, or we will lose them."

Veterinary lead at AHDB and pig specialist Dr Mandy Nevel says baby pigs need colostrum too, to maintain body temperature as well as protect them against disease.

Mandy said: "Baby pigs are born wet and with very little energy reserve. Ideally they need to get a feed in within the first 30 minutes to prevent hypothermia. This early feed will also provide essential immunity, giving them the best chance of survival in their first few weeks of life.

"Sow vaccination is the best way to boost antibody levels in the colostrum. That is why piglets who receive good levels of colostrum early will also be the healthiest at weaning. That extra care in the first hours of life will really make a difference."

Mandy includes post-weaning diarrhoea and respiratory disease as longer term threats for piglets receiving insufficient colostrum at birth. "Colostrum really is a golden opportunity to secure lower antibiotic use and a healthier animal for its whole life."

Veterinary surgeons and farmers looking for more information should search for the #ColostrumIsGold hashtag on Twitter, or go to the FarmAntibiotics.org website to be signposted to tools, resources and case studies from 1 February.

Norbrook Laboratories Ltd has relaunched its website with a focus on veterinary technical support, farmers and pet owners, and a new online recruitment system.

The new site has sections dedicated specifically to farm animal, equine and pet healthcare. Norbrook says each section will feature articles and information on relevant issues in addition to help and support for the company's animal health pharmaceutical product ranges.

Alanna Carty, European Marketing Director said: "Animal Healthcare is a massive area within which there are a range of very different users and requirements. On our new website, we have categorised three specific groups - Farm Animals, Horses and small companion animals or pets.  Users can now easily navigate directly to the specific area they are interested in and obtain the information they need in an instant. In addition, we have included articles and information on relevant topics eg Bovine Respiratory Disease or Arthritis in cats and dogs which will help animal health carers to keep abreast of key issues in what is a fast-changing environment"

The new site also incorporates a Veterinary Technical Support section dedicated to veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses and practice managers.  Alanna said: "Time is a precious commodity for veterinary surgeons and nurses. They need information on drugs and treatments as quickly as possible and our new website has been designed to meet this need.  Our quick search allows vets and assistants to quickly identify products they may wish to use and our full Product Compendium is also available online."

The site also includes a new online recruitment section which aims to streamline the process for the 3000 or so applications the company currently receives each year.

Mrs Louise Kirk, Head of Personnel said: "The beauty of the online recruitment system is that it makes life easier for everyone involved in the process.  Applicants have more time to complete the application form because they can begin online as soon as they become aware of the advertised position.  They can begin to complete the form, save it and return to it or amend it until they are happy to submit it, at which point they receive a confirmation email and a pdf copy of their application form.  However the system also allows for the form to be downloaded and posted to applicants who are unable to use the online system."

www.norbrook.com

Researchers at The Pirbright Institute have developed a new method of genetically modifying the Marek’s disease vaccine so it is also able to protect against other destructive poultry viruses such as infectious bursal disease (IBD), avian influenza or Newcastle disease.

They say this approach could lead to a reduction in the number of vaccines that need to be administered to each bird.

Vaccines that target multiple diseases are in high demand due to the many viruses that can circulate simultaneously in flocks. Protecting against the most dangerous diseases with one vaccine could reduce overall vaccination costs for poultry producers and decrease the number of times that birds need to be handled.

The researchers demonstrated that a gene editing system called CRISPR/cas9 can be used to insert a gene of the IBD virus into the currently used Marek’s disease vaccine virus. The added genetic material protects poultry against IBD in addition to the protection already offered by the Marek’s disease vaccine, meaning that bird owners would only need to use one vaccine instead of two.

Other vaccines generated by conventional methods can achieve a similar result, but by using the CRISPR/cas9 system the Pirbright researchers say they have been able to insert the IBD gene far more quickly, easily and accurately than the methods that have been used before. This will significantly reduce the time needed to generate new vaccines.

Professor Venugopal Nair, joint leader of the research at Pirbright said: "The method we have created with CRISPR/cas9 really increases the scope of how we edit the Marek’s disease vaccine to include other virus components. Now we have shown that the gene-edited vaccine protects against both Marek’s disease and IBD, we are looking at inserting more genes from other viruses."

The team intend to generate a vaccine that will be able to protect against multiple avian diseases and will next target two high consequence poultry viruses - avian influenza virus and the Newcastle disease virus. The flexibility of the new method also means that as the viruses evolve, the vaccine virus can be easily edited to include new genes which protect against emerging strains.

The Pirbright Institute says there has been huge commercial interest in using this technology to develop novel vaccines, so it intends to partner vaccine manufacturing companies to bring CRISPR/cas9 edited vaccines to market. 

This scientific paper can be found in the Vaccine journal and was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC); grant numbers BB/P016472/1 BB/L014262/1.

Photo: Cells infected with the Marek's disease vaccine virus, HVT, (green) expressing the inserted infectious bursal disease virus gene, VP2 (red). Cell nuclei are shown in blue. © Dr Na Tang, The Pirbright Institute 2018.