The Disciplinary Committee of the RCVS has postponed judgement in the case of a veterinary surgeon who was convicted of causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of alcohol.

Twice over the legal limit, Peter Hanlon MRCVS set out in his car to collect his son from the local railway station. On the way, he drifted across the road and collided with an oncoming car, killing its driver, and making a widow of the passenger.

The case raises an interesting question. Do you think Mr Hanlon should have been struck off? On reading the press release, that was certainly my first reaction. But Mr Hanlon has already received his punishment from the courts: 30 months at her Majesty's pleasure. And whilst people will have their own opinion about whether that's a lenient sentence or not (especially since most prisoners seem to be out in about five minutes these days), it is for the courts to apply punishment, not the RCVS.

As it is, the suspended ruling allows the RCVS to monitor Mr Hanlon's progress after his release, and come down hard if he breaks his undertakings to the Committee.

Click here for full details of the ruling.

This message from Graham Brook, President of BCVA, issued at 5:00pm today.

Most of you will have heard on the news that a suspect case of Foot and Mouth was reported this morning in Surrey near Egham. Initially, a temporary restriction zone was placed around the premises and the cattle have been culled as suspects.

Defra have now announced (2.45pm) that this is now positive for Foot and Mouth and protection and surveillance zones are now in force around the premises and a nationwide movement ban has been put in place. The terms of any licences etc for the movement of dairy cattle for milking etc. are not yet available.

It is understood that the cattle affected are on rented grazing land and the tenant has a number of premises in the area.

Until the strain of Foot and Mouth virus is determined it is too early to start speculating how this new outbreak has occurred. It is hope that the identification of the strain will be determined tomorrow.

Animals in auction marts at present will be licensed out either to the purchaser’s premises or back to their premises of origin.

A second temporary restriction zone has also been put in place around a pig farm at Dereham in Norfolk.

A report case in Lanark auction mart (Scotland) is also being investigated but no restrictions are in place at present.

We would like to take this opportunity to emphasis that all vets need to maintain the highest bio-security whilst visiting farms and they need to ensure that their clients are being vigilant for symptoms of Foot and Mouth at all times and to report all suspect cases. Please emphasise to your farm clients the need for vigilance and bio-security.

Virbac is launching the Equimax Challenge for vets at the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress (Sept 13-15th).

Entrants will take part in a number of challenges over the course of 6 months, with a Horse Weigh Supreme Extra Plus for the winner.

The new, non-statutory Register for veterinary nurses opened on 1st September. 3329 VNs were automatically included (having been listed with the RCVS since 2003). The remainder joined the list voluntarily.

RVNs are obliged to undertake 45 hours of CPD over 3 years, and to follow the Guide to Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses.

To help promote the new title, the RCVS has sent a poster to all newly registered RVNs to display in their practices. More promotional materials are in the pipeline.

September marks ‘Pet Smile Month’, and Royal Canin is amongst several companies offering participating practices a great way to build dental sales and reinforce key health messages.

During the month, a quarter of a million Doggy Bags and Kitty Packs, including samples of Royal Canin dental diets will be given away. A money off voucher appears on the front of the bags, which can be redeemed there and then against Royal Canin dental products from the clinic.

Gill Furniss, Royal Canin veterinary marketing director, says: “We decided that by enabling customers to redeem the money-off vouchers before they even leave the clinic with their gift bags was the best way to ensure that vets get the benefit of these sales – no chance of pet owners taking the bag home and losing the voucher! ‘Pet Smile Month’ is a great way for veterinarians to get across the message about good oral care, and an opportunity to help owners keep their pets’ mouths healthy for life.”

Richard Crane from Deloitte says that British meat on the supermarket shelves could become a rarity unless consumers are prepared to pay more.

Seems a tad optimistic to me in today's price-driven supermarkets.

At the WAAVP (World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology) Congress last week, Novartis Animal Health presented what the company describes as promising data on potentially the first new livestock anthelmintic class in 25 years, offering renewed hope for farmers struggling with the devastating economic effects of parasitic worms in livestock.

The new class of parasiticides, known as Amino-Acetonitrile Derivatives (AADs), have a potentially novel mode of action which has shown promising results against all sheep and cattle gastro-intestinal nematodes, including those resistant to existing treatments. While further testing is required, early in vivo research suggests a kill rate of greater than 95 percent in key economically-important nematodes.

The new class has already been recognized by many experts as a potentially significant step forward, with the potential to significantly improve parasite management in livestock.

You can click here for a podcast of the highlights of the presentation which will remain available till 21st September 2007.

Royal Canin is launching the first complete veterinary diet range especially for neutered dogs, to counter the recognised physiological side effects of neutering.

The range consists of Neutered & Osteo for neutered adult and mature dogs over 10kg, Neutered & Stone for neutered adult and mature dogs under 10kg, and Neutered & Digest, for neutered puppies over six months old who will grow into adults over 10kg.

The Company Of Animals has announced its support for a new charity: Cancer & Bio Detection Dogs, which claims to have proved unequivocally that dogs can be trained to detect human cancers by smell.

The charity trained dogs to discriminate between urine from bladder cancer patients and urine from both healthy people and patients with diseases other than cancer.

"The dogs were taught to signal their choice by lying down next to their chosen sample. Their combined accuracy rate of 56% was highly statistically significant, proving that dogs can detect cancer by using their olfactory capabilities."

A survey of more than 400 dairy farms has found that 10% of calves required antibiotic treatment for pneumonia last winter. Before accounting for the effect on in-contact calves, Pfizer veterinary manager Carolyn Hogan calculates that losses arising from this incidence are more than £700/year for the average 168-cow herd taking part. [1]

“This could increase substantially if you added the impact on in-contacts,” she says. “A major concern is that 44% of farmers said the issue of treating in-contact calves at the same time had not been discussed with their vet.”

[1] Andrews A.H (2000) Cattle Practice Vol 8 Part 2: 109-114. This paper estimates a case of pneumonia in a dairy calf to cost £43 per treated animal on average. In the survey being reported here, the average farm reported 17 cases of pneumonia in the past year requiring antibiotic treatment. Cost estimate = 17 cases x £43/case = £731.