The European Commission has announced the EU's animal health strategy for 2007-13. The announcement provides the framework for animal health measures over the next 6 years, taking into account feedback from stakeholders and potential challenges in the future.
The overall aim is to put greater focus on precautionary measures, disease surveillance, controls and research, in order to reduce the incidence of animal disease and minimise the impact of outbreaks when they occur. Click here for more ...
The Wellcome Trust, the UK's largest medical research charity, has announced the launch of a new £10.7m initiative to provide support for a range of activities designed to encourage veterinarians to take up research careers.
The scheme will be run in partnership with the UK's veterinary schools at the Universities of Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Nottingham, and the University of Oxford (Laboratory Animal Medicine Component).
The programme will deliver 20 Clinical Research Training Fellows, each with a PhD and a clinical or pathology specialist qualification, as well as number of postdoctoral fellows and clinical doctoral fellows, each with a DVM and specialist postgraduate training in laboratory animal medicine. In addition, leading to these centrepiece awards will be 175 Vacation Scholarships, 175 Intercalation Awards, support for 5 Summer Schools, and 9 one-year Research Entry Scholarships.
To coincide with the announcement of the new programme, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) has launched The Impact of Veterinary Research, a brochure to promote the key role that veterinary research plays in our lives.
The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh has awarded its 2007 Marbocyl Achievement Award to Geoff Culshaw, BVMS, CertVC, MRCVS, Head of the School’s small animal cardiology unit, and Diane MacDonald, VN, Head Nurse in the Hospital for Small Animals.
Animus Surgical has launched Vetlog, a new temperature data logger designed to be used by the veterinary market. Vetlog will enable practices to prove their temperature compliance to the VMD and RCVS Practice Standards Scheme. Steve Beddall of Animus Surgical said: "data loggers can be easily placed in a fridge and then simply attached to a PC to download data in report or chart format". The company claims that the product is easy-to-use, cost-effective and will provide practices with a permanent record of temperature readings from the day practices start using them.For more information visit http://www.animussurgical.com/ or telephone 01449 775330.
The Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons has unveiled a new logo in response to member feedback and a desire by the society to update its image to tie in with a more modern and campaigning approach. Here it is (roll of drums please):
Initial laboratory tests on the samples taken this morning from the cattle on the holding in Surrey where disease was suspected have indicated the presence of Foot and Mouth Disease. On the basis of these initial laboratory results and clinical symptoms Debby Reynolds, UK Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), has confirmed Foot and Mouth Disease. The farm comprises a number of separate parcels of land and a single Protection Zone will be put in place which extends a 3 kilometres radius from each of them, and a Surveillance Zone of 10 kilometres radius beyond that. Footpaths will be closed in the Protection Zone.
Defra has today published reports from the Health and SafetyExecutive and Professor Brian Spratt, of Imperial College London,into the recent outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Surrey. The report is available here.
Pet Protect has launched a new website which includes a tool to compare the benefits of its pet insurance policies with others in the market.
The comparison deliberately excludes the cost of the policies. Pet Protect says that the aim is to "overcome the current preoccupation with price as principal means by which competitive products are evaluated".
It would be interesting to know what your experience is, talking to clients about insurance. Do you think that clients are receptive to buying insurance for the benefits, or do you think that price will always be their main concern?