Dechra has launched Dexacortone (dexamethasone 0.5 mg and 2 mg), a long-acting glucocorticosteroid for the symptomatic treatment of inflammatory and allergic conditions in cats and dogs.

Dechra says that Dexacortone, which is presented as a flavoured double-divisible tablet, is approximately 25 times more potent than short-acting substances such as hydrocortisone.

Dechra Brand Manager Carol Morgan said: “Dexamethasone works to suppress the inflammatory response and should be combined with treatment of the underlying disease.”

The chewable tablets have been developed with a chicken flavour to encourage greater acceptance by animals and have Dechra’s double divisible SmartTab format to help accurate and flexible dosing.

Dexacortone is available in blister packs.

Carol added: “The dose and duration of treatment should be determined by the veterinarian based upon the desired effect and on the nature and severity of each individual case and our SmartTab format makes Dexacortone tablets easily divisible. The tablet portions have a six day shelf life that also reduces the wastage of medicine.” 

For more information visit www.dechra.co.uk

The BVA and the RCVS have issued a joint response to the Migration Advisory Committee’s Call for Evidence on the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU, in which they say that Brexit will exacerbate recruitment problems for the veterinary profession, making the placement of vets on the Shortage Occupation List an immediate priority.

The joint submission points to evidence from recent surveys indicating a current workforce shortage of 11% in small animal practice and an overall deterioration in the ability of practices to hire suitably qualified staff. 

Following the exit from the EU, existing shortages will likely worsen, whilst changes in trade could increase the demand for veterinary skills, producing a shortfall in the UK’s capacity to ensure animal health and welfare, food safety and public health. 

Placing the veterinary profession on the Shortage Occupation List would reduce restrictions on recruiting veterinary surgeons from abroad, something the response says will become a necessity post Brexit.

Currently about half of vets registering each year in the UK are graduates from the EU. If there are no appropriate immigration measures in place when the UK leaves the EU, this EU contribution could decline, leaving a large gap in the veterinary workforce. Research among BVA members has indicated that since the EU referendum, about one fifth are reporting that recruitment has already become harder. Meanwhile, a study commissioned by the RCVS has shown that nearly a third of veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses whose nationality is non-UK European are considering a move back home.

The BVA / RCVS response highlights that although the veterinary profession is relatively small, it performs a range of roles that are vital to the UK’s economy and maintaining standards in society. Agriculture and food production would suffer from a lack of veterinary input, potentially reducing its livestock outputs worth £12.7bn in 2016, whilst the equine industry and aquaculture would also struggle. The companion animal veterinary market, that has a turnover of £3 billion, could experience significant losses due to workforce shortages.

Veterinary surgeons from the EU make a particularly significant contribution to critical roles in public health with estimates suggesting that 95% of Official Veterinarians working in abattoirs are from overseas and the large majority of these are from the EU. Reducing the veterinary presence in slaughterhouses would increase the risk of food fraud, provide the potential for animal welfare breaches and remove a level of public health reassurance.

While the number of UK veterinary graduates has increased year-on-year from the established veterinary schools, with potentially more schools in the pipeline, it is unlikely that UK universities can meet this increased demand in the short timeframe required. BVA, RCVS and Defra recently launched the Veterinary Capability and Capacity Project (VCCP) to help ensure the veterinary sector can continue to play its role in society.

BVA Senior Vice President Gudrun Ravetz said: "Our members have been reporting problems with recruitment and retention of vets for several years and this situation will only worsen under Brexit unless appropriate measures are in place. Vets are vital to our society. Across the UK vets are needed to certify imports and exports, conduct cutting-edge research, prevent disease outbreaks, ensure food safety in abattoirs and achieve our world leading standards in animal welfare.

"We are setting out a very strong case to add the profession to the Shortage Occupation List now to help us manage the immediate shortfall in critical veterinary roles, while the UK negotiates a longer term immigration policy that must meet the UK’s veterinary workforce needs post-Brexit without creating disproportionate administrative burdens for veterinary businesses."

Chris Tufnell, RCVS Senior Vice-President and Chair of the College’s Brexit Taskforce, said: "The first of our recently published Brexit Principles is that ‘vital veterinary work continues to get done’. In order to ensure this is met we want the Government to recognise that there are significant current and potential shortages in the profession that can only be mitigated by putting it on the Shortage Occupation List so that animal health and welfare and public health is safeguarded.

"Our ideal outcome is that EU veterinary surgeons currently living and working in the UK are allowed to stay indefinitely and that, in terms of any post-Brexit immigration system, graduates of European schools accredited by the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) are allowed to work here with the minimum of restrictions."

More information is available in BVA/RCVS’s full response to the Migration Advisory Committee’s Call for Evidence:www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/News,_campaigns_and_policies/Get_involved/Consultation_archive/Migration%20Advisory%20Committee%20BVA%20RCVS%20Submission%20FINAL.PDF

The British Veterinary Receptionist Association has announced the results of its second salary survey, which found that 50.3% of veterinary receptionists are being paid less than the voluntary Real Living Wage of £9.30 per hour (or £10.75 in London).

505 people took part in the survey in August 2019, of which 85% were receptionists. The remainder were RVNs, VCAs or practice managers with some front desk responsibility.

The survey found that 45% were paid between £8 and £9 per hour, with 9% more falling into this salary bracket than in 2018. 5.32% were paid £8 or less per hour.

The Real Living Wage is a figure calculated from the costs of a basket of household goods and services by the Living Wage Foundation, and voluntarily paid by its 6000-odd member companies in the UK. The Living Wage Foundation argues it is a better measure of what people need to get by on than the Minimum Wage (£7.70 for those aged between 21 and 25) or the National Living Wage (£8.21 for those over 25).

63% of veterinary receptionists said they were unsatisfied with their pay. However, it was not the biggest cause of dissatisfaction uncovered by the survey. 67% were dissatisfied with the recognition of the value of their role, and 69% with the career progression options open to them. 

70% of respondents said they would like to do more CPD and that the main benefit would be to clients and patients. However, 43% of receptionists said there is no time allowance set aside for them to complete CPD.

Co-founder of BVRA and Honorary Associate Professor In Veterinary Business, Nottingham University, Brian Faulkner (pictured right) said: "A large part of the client experience is centred around the waiting room and receptionist area and our members work hard to ensure that experience is positive.

"We have an increasing number looking to upskill and the appetite for CPD is clearly there. If we can envisage a scenario where the minimum wage is set at £10.50 an hour, that would mean that around 65% of veterinary receptionists would need a pay increase.

"I don't think any of us believe that veterinary receptionists are currently doing an unskilled job and a key mission of BVRA is to achieve greater recognition of the value they bring to practices, both as colleagues and commercially."

VetHelpDirect.com, the directory of veterinary practices in the UK founded in 2006 by Susie Samuel MRCVS, has added a new price comparison service with prices from 1600 practices to the website. 

The new service was reported in The Times, in an article titled "How much should your vet cost? Pet owners bitten by untamed fees."

Since launch, VetHelpDirect has offered owners information to help them pick a veterinary practice, including reviews, ratings (including a value for money score), RCVS accreditation, cat/ rabbit friendly status, health plan details and how out of hours cover is provided.

It has now added some basic information about each practices' charges, specifically the first consultation fee, a dog castrate and health plans, and then categorised them according with £££££ signs to indicate how far above or below the average they sit.  

Susie Samuel said:  “Most practices will give out these prices over the telephone, but there’s no way for the client to find them without directly getting in touch, something people are less and less likely to want to do nowadays.

"Our research data suggests that people want to find this information online, just as they would in any other service industry.

"When they can’t find any information at all on pricing, there can be a perception of secrecy that can do damage to the vet-owner relationship.”

Susie added: “True comparison for vet practices is of course very complex and no basket of services is ever going to capture the whole complexity.

"Every practice is different, from facilities and team qualifications; to the time allotted for consultations; to monitoring equipment for surgery; and of course the level of investigations undertaken which can also vary from vet to vet.”

“We can’t solve all this straight away but we started from a good place, over the years we have built up more information about vet practices than any other website.

"The aim is to provide commonly requested prices for owners to easily access and to add more and more detail on the vet practices over time so that owners can make the most informed choice on the vet that's most appropriate for them and their pet”.

VetHelpDirect says it will soon be adding prescription fees and out of hours consultation, and a much wider range of species-specific fees in the near future.

The company also points to the Competition and Markets Authority investigation into pricing in the UK, highlighting that in its 2019 Report into Funerals in the UK, the CMA noted that weaknesses in the sector included the fact that less than 40% of funeral directors posted any form of pricing online, and those that did were frequently not in a form that made for easy comparison.

Susie says the veterinary sector has an even lower rate of online pricing transparency.

To add your pricing information to VetHelpDirect, email: info@vethelpdirect.com.

COMMENT

Whilst greater transparency over pricing in almost any field is surely to be welcomed, it seems questionable whether comparing prices for consultations and standard procedures will be of much help to pet owners, because things like the level of investigations, how defensively a clinician practises and the owner's own relationship with risk are likely to have a far greater impact on the bill than whether a consult costs £20 more or less up the road. 

There is perhaps also a risk of practices rated as '£££££ / more expensive than average' will be seen as just that. Expensive and nothing more.

It's not like a restaurant where £££££ usually means particularly delicious.

Whilst this may not matter much whilst so many practices are having to turn away business, it may become more important in the future.  

Discuss here. 

Elanco has launched a new poultry tonic designed to support birds during the most demanding periods of productivity: during growth and peak laying.

The launch follows Elanco's acquisition of Janssen Animal Health and its existing poultry poultry tonic, which Elanco has improved.

Elanco Poultry Tonic HD Plus contains two new ingredients: a vitamin D3 metabolite and a natural antioxidant blend.

Elanco says the new product could prove just the tonic for the poultry industry in the face of rising fuel and feed costs. One study has apparently demonstrated as much as a 5:1 return on investment can be made as a result of supplementing the D3 metabolite alone.¹

According to the company, the vitamin D3 metabolite has been shown to increase egg weights (by around 2 per cent) and improve feed conversion and feed intake. It is more available to the body than vitamin D3, which plays a role in calcium metabolism (and therefore egg production). The benefits are significant for commercial egg producers but also for hatcheries, as egg size correlates with chick weight. Elanco says the metabolite can also improve bone strength, potentially resulting in healthier, more robust poults.

The new antioxidant blend contains natural preparations of vitamins as well as more complex antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, such as flavanoids, polyphenols and carotenoids. It also contains nucleotides and sulphur containing amino acids, methionine and lysine.

Elanco's new Poultry Tonic HD Plus is suitable for layers, broilers, breeders and turkeys and is available from veterinary wholesalers and animal health distributors. The company is also launching Game Bird Tonic HD Plus at the same time.

Reference

1. SOTO-SALANOVA MF MOLINERO A, Efficacy of the use of Hy-D® in laying hens, XI th European Symposium on the Quality of Eggs and Egg Products 191 Doorwerth, The Netherlands, 23-26 May 2005 

Bayer Animal Health has launched a next generation fluoroquinolone antimicrobial - Veraflox (pradofloxacin) - for the treatment of bacterial infections in cats and dogs.

Bayer Animal Health's marketing manager Dr Markus Edingloh said: "Veraflox, with its molecular compound pradofloxacin, developed exclusively for veterinary medicine, marks a major leap forward in veterinary antibiotic therapy and patient care.

"Veraflox has an enhanced spectrum of antimicrobial activity which encompasses Gram-positive and anaerobic bacteria. In addition, Veraflox has demonstrated high levels of bactericidal activity against target pathogens including activity against dormant bacteria typically found in chronic infections."

For cats, an oral suspension is available in which a fine-grained ion exchange agent binds to the antibiotic, apparently allowing it to pass the cat's taste buds undetected. Bayer says this innovation has been adopted specifically to ensure the product is palatable to cats, and help ensure owner compliance. The oral suspension comes with a syringe with both millilitre and gramme graduations, to help ensure accurate dosing.

Veraflox oral suspension is indicated for the treatment of upper respiratory tract infections, wound infections and abscesses. The 15mg tablet is also licensed in cats for treating upper respiratory tract infections.

Bayer says that in addition to its other indications, Veraflox is also very effective at combatting anaerobic bacteria that play a major role in aggressive bone destruction in canine periodontal disease, and it is the first fluoroquinolone to be licensed in dogs for the adjunctive treatment of severe infections of the gingiva and periodontal tissues.

In addition to its dental claim for dogs, Veraflox is also indicated for the treatment of wound infections, superficial and deep pyoderma, and acute urinary tract infections. It is given to dogs as a once-daily flavoured tablet.

Dr Edingloh added: "The unique chemistry and way in which Veraflox works gives it superior antibacterial activity compared with existing fluoroquinolones. In addition, during field studies, Veraflox was shown to be superior to other leading antibiotic products.

"Pradofloxacin has been proven to have a wide spectrum of activity, outstanding antibacterial activity, and an excellent safety margin. Its pharmacokinetic features ensure this active ingredient can rapidly get to the site of infection, at which it has a great impact on the pathogen population.

"One of the most common reasons for treatment failure where antibiotics are concerned is lack of owner compliance. The availability of Veraflox as an oral suspension with a graded syringe for cats, will enable more accurate dosing, far easier administration and so ensure higher cure rates.

"The launch of Veraflox is the first major advance in its class, since the introduction of Baytril, the first veterinary fluoroquinolone, over 20 years ago. Veraflox provides vets with more predictability, reliability and peace of mind, especially in difficult to treat infections."

For further information on Veraflox, please contact your Bayer representative or call 01635 563000.

MSD has launched Bovilis Nasalgen-C, an intranasal live bovine coronavirus (BCoV) vaccine, in the UK.

Bovilis Nasalgen-C can be used for the active immunisation of calves from the day of birth onwards to reduce clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease and nasal viral shedding from infection with BCoV. 

MSD says respiratory disease in UK calves is widespread and comes at a high cost from an emotional and business productivity perspective.

It is also continually highlighted as a critical area for overuse of antibiotics.

Despite all this, there is an under use of vaccination in the UK cattle sector¹.

Speaking at BCVA last week, Paul Burr MRCVS, director of Biobest Laboratories said:  “Recent UK studies show bovine coronavirus being the most prevalent virus found in routine disease screening and nasal swab samples taken during a bovine respiratory disease outbreak.

"BCoV was found in 39% of over 400 nasal swab samples taken between 2020 and 2022 from BRD affected cattle on UK farms².”

Kat Baxter-Smith, veterinary adviser with MSD Animal Health, said: “Whilst the pathogenicity of BCoV within the BRD complex remains an unknown quantity, its ubiquitous presence in the UK cattle population – and the recent human experience of coronavirus as a significant respiratory pathogen – suggests a need for a re-evaluation of BRD control by vets and farmers.

“Just as coronavirus is a pathogen associated with the common cold and Covid-19, BCoV is a proven pathogen that directly impacts the calf respiratory tract.

"Consequently, the availability of this new BRD vaccine presents veterinary professionals with another tool in their armoury to improve control of this costly disease.

“If diagnostics suggest BCoV is implicated in any BRD problem, the availability of Bovilis Nasalgen-C allows UK cattle farmers to effectively administer protection for young calves via a single 2ml intranasal dose that can quickly reach the site of action.

"This will support the development of immunity against BCoV early in life, the onset of which starts five days after administration and has a 12-week duration.”

Bovilis Nasalgen-C comes can be used on the same day with Bovilis INtranasal RSPÔ Live, which offers protection against both Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) and Parainfluenza-3 Virus (Pi3).

Bovilis Nasalgen-C can be stored for up to 24 hours at room temperature after reconstitution, can be given to cattle using a syringe or applicator device and is available in one, five and 20 dose packs, suitable for both small and large herds.

References:

1. MSD Animal Health. Penetration rate calculated October 2017, using Kynetec data and Defra Statistics (2017).
2. Nasal swab PCR samples from 407 farmers submitted to Biobest (2020-2022). 

RSA has confirmed the initial 27 practices that have joined its new Preferred Referral Network, launching today.

The creation of the network means that whilst veterinary surgeons can continue to appoint referral practices as they do now, owners of animals needing a non-emergency referral outside the RSA network may need to pay £200 towards the cost of treatment.

The new rules currently apply to holders of policies issued by Tesco Bank and MORE TH>N, however RSA says it is in discussion with other insurance brands about adopting the new network.

RSA says the Preferred Referral Network will enable it to provide competitively priced products and deliver a range of benefits for customers including: 

• providing the highest standards of veterinary treatment and care at competitive costs
• maximising treatment available within policy limits for customers 
• delivering a first class service proposition (underpinned by Service Level Agreements including treatment timescales)
• encouraging Network practices to bill RSA directly so that customers no longer have to pay themselves and then seek reimbursement from RSA. 

The company is highlighting the fact that its new network fields 178 RCVS, EBVS or AVMA recognised specialists, 49 Diploma holders and 71 Certificate holders or Advanced Practitioners, working at a mixture of large, multi-disciplinary centres (including five with links to university teaching hospitals), independents and corporates.

RSA says that over the last 12 months, vets have directed more than half of all RSA cases to the 27 practices in its network.

Bill Paton, Claims Director for UK and Western Europe said:  “We are delighted to have twenty seven practices from around the UK join our preferred referral network. This is a huge step forward and will enable us to continue to provide competitively priced insurance cover with access to the highest standards of veterinary treatment and care. 

"We expect further practices to join the Network in due course and we are actively engaged in discussions with a number of referral practices of varying size and scale, which have expressed an interest in joining."

The 27 referral practices are:

South East

• VRCC (Essex) www.vrcc.co.uk
• Royal Veterinary College (Herts)* www.rvc.ac.uk/small-animal-referrals 
• Lumbry Park Veterinary Hospital (Alton) www.lumbrypark.co.uk   

South West

• Bath Veterinary Referrals www.bathvetreferrals.co.uk 
• Highcroft Veterinary Referrals (Bristol) www.highcroftvetreferrals.co.uk
• Rowe Referrals (Bristol) www.rowereferrals.co.uk
• St David's Veterinary Hospital (Exeter) http://www.stdavidsveterinarygroup.co.uk/ExeterSurgery1510.html
• Vets Now Referrals (Swindon) www.vetsnowreferrals.com/veterinary -hospitals-and-referral-centres/swindon/ 
• Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists (Ringwood) www.scvetspecialists.co.uk 
• Langford Veterinary Services (Bristol) www.langfordvets.co.uk/small-animal-hospital 
• Vale Referrals (Dursley) www.valereferrals.co.uk 

Midlands

• Abington Park Referrals (Northampton) www.abingtonparkvetreferrals.co.uk  
• Dovecote Veterinary Hospital (Derby) www.dovecoteveterinaryhospital.co.uk 
• Kingston Veterinary Group (Hull) www.kingstonvets.com 
• Pride Veterinary Centre (Derby) www.prideveterinarycentre.co.uk/referrals 
• West Midlands Referrals (Lichfield) www.wm-referrals.com 
• Oakwood Veterinary Referrals (Northwich) www.oakwoodvetreferrals.co.uk 

North West

• Rutland House Referrals (St Helens) www.rutlandreferrals.com
• Chestergates Veterinary Specialists (Chester) www.chestergates.org.uk
• Torrington Orthopaedics (Brighouse) www.torvet.co.uk

North East

• North East Veterinary Referrals (Cramlington) www.nevr.co.uk 

East

• Grove Referrals (Fakenham) www.grovereferrals.co.uk 
• Animal Health Trust (Newmarket) www.aht.org.uk/cms-display/ahtreferrals 
• University of Cambridge Queen's School Veterinary Hospital www.qvsh.co.uk 

Scotland

• Crown Vets (Inverness). www.crownvets.co.uk 
• University of Glasgow Small Animal Hospital www.gla.ac.uk/schools/vet/sah/ 
• Vets Now Referrals (Glasgow) www.vetsnowreferrals.com/veterinary -hospitals-and-referral-centres/glasgow/  

 * referral arrangements still being finalised

Following the expiry of Merial's UK patent on the fipronil/S-methoprene combination used in Frontline Combo comes the launch of Amflee Combo, the first generic alternative.

Amflee Combo, a POM, is being launched by a newcomer to the UK market, a Slovenian company called Krka (pronounced kirka). The company says it plans to introduce a vast range of small and production animal products onto the UK market in the next few years. 

Killian Gaffney, Head of sales and marketing at Krka, says the company intends to support UK veterinary surgeons by offering high quality products and by building business relationships that will help protect veterinary incomes, at the same time as offering good value to their customers.

Killian said: "Amflee Combo has some unique features that we believe will set it apart from the competition. We know the combination of the two active ingredients in Amflee Combo is very effective for the treatment of fleas, ticks and biting lice and as part of a treatment strategy for flea allergy dermatitis in dogs and cats. S-methoprene is also effective against flea eggs and larvae in the environment.

"However, these ingredients can be susceptible to degradation when subjected to light and moisture, which is why each Amflee Combo pipette comes in its own special foil wrapper. The pipettes have also been designed for convenience of use, since we know that only 22% of owners apply spot-ons correctly¹."

A range of product and client literature to support the use of Amflee Combo is available by calling 01753 722 150.

Amflee Combo is available in a variety of packs for cats and different sized dogs, containing either three or six pipettes. The recommended treatment is one pipette every four weeks.

Further information about Amflee Combo or Krka is available at www.krka.co.uk

Reference

1. 1 El veterinario ante el cambio climatico Argos 107, 2010.

The BSAVA has published the third edition of its Manual of Canine and Feline Gastroenterology.

The new editorial team of Ed Hall, David Williams and Aarti Kathrani says the manual has been completely rewritten and reorganised to provide a current, well-structured overview of the main gastrointestinal diseases that challenge both clinical practitioners and academics.

The Manual is divided into four sections:

• Diagnostic procedures and techniques: history taking, physical examination, clinical pathology, imaging and biopsy.

• Diagnostic approaches to problems: diagnostic approach to complaints/problems affecting the GI tract, pancreas and liver.

• Patient management: treatments available for GI, pancreatic and liver disease, including a chapter on fluid and nutritional therapy.

• Diseases of specific systems/organs: conditions of organs of the GI tract, including pathophysiology, clinical signs, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. 

Ed Hall said: "The busy small animal practitioner is likely to see a dog or cat with GI signs most days and having this Manual as a resource should give them greater insight into the conditions they are treating and hopefully make their job more satisfying."

The BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Gastroenterology is available in a printed edition (£90; £60 to BSAVA members) and an online edition (£75 +VAT; £50 +VAT to BSAVA members).

Results for the 2010 RCVS Council elections have been released today and, following a slight increase in turnout for the second year running, four existing Council Members and one former Member have been returned for another four years. However, new to Council this year and securing the most votes was Preston-based veterinary practitioner David Catlow.

4,232 veterinary surgeons out of a possible 22,541 cast their votes this year, an increase of 0.6% from 18.2% in 2009. The results of the voting are as follows:

CATLOW, David Frederick. 2,383. Elected.
TAPSFIELD-WRIGHT. Clare Joan. 2,352. Elected.
SHIELD, Christine Fiona. 2,133. Elected.
MOLYNEUX, Jacqueline Rosina. 2,111. Elected.
SMITH, Neil Christopher. 2,089. Elected.
PARTRIDGE, Robert Duncan. 1,971. Elected.
NELL, Adi. 1,781.            
ANDERSON, Roy Paxton. 1,455.           
GODDARD, Philip Campbell. 1,385.            
LONSDALE, Thomas, 380. 

Terms of office for the six successful candidates will (re)commence at RCVS Day on 2 July 2010.

Following a successful partnership last year, the RCVS again teamed up with this website to allow voters more opportunity to quiz the candidates directly and find out more about their views.

Once again, this seemed to prove popular with the electorate although it presented candidates with a large increase in their workload during the voting period. Page views in the election section rose 23% to 28,347 this year; 48 discussion threads were started (slightly down from 53) and total responses rose dramatically by 47% to 988.

A new incentive for members to vote this year was a pledge to donate 20p per voter to the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal. A donation of just over £845 will therefore be made shortly.

RCVS Registrar Jane Hern said: "An increase in turnout, if only a small one, is to be welcomed and I hope we can continue to increase members' interest in the composition and activities of RCVS Council. I'd like to thank all ten candidates who stood for election this year; my congratulations to those elected and my commiserations to those who weren't successful this time."

Note: there was no VN Council election this year as only two nominations were received for the two available places. These will be filled by Suzanne May RVN and Hilary Orpet RVN.

Hampshire-based Robert Russell has been struck off by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee after he was convicted of possessing indecent images of children and extreme animal abuse.

Dr Russell, 64, who waived his right to attend the hearing, was convicted in 2023 of three offences: making indecent photographs of a child, possessing 2,280 prohibited images of a child and possessing 109 extreme pornographic images that included moving images that were grossly offensive.

After pleading guilty to making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child, and possessing extreme pornographic image/images portraying sexual acts with an animal, Dr Russell was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court to a two-year community order, a 30-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, 150 hours of community service and a forfeiture and destruction order of Seagate Drive, Toshiba hard drive and Lenovo tablet.

In addition, he was required to register with the police for 5 years and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years.

He was also required to pay prosecution costs of £425 and £60 victim surcharge.

Counsel for the College submitted to the Disciplinary Committee that the nature and circumstances of the offences rendered Dr Russell unfit to practise as a veterinary surgeon.

The Committee considered there to be several aggravating factors including, actual (albeit indirect) injury to an animal or child; the risk of harm to an animal or child; sexual misconduct; premeditated conduct; and, that the offences involved vulnerable children and animals.  

Neil Slater, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: “The Committee has reached the conclusion that Dr Russell’s behaviour is fundamentally incompatible with being a veterinary surgeon, namely grave offences of a sexual nature.

"Dr Russell’s behaviour was so serious that removal of professional status and the rights and privileges accorded to that status is considered to be the only means of protecting the wider public interest and of maintaining confidence in the profession.

“The Committee has not taken this decision lightly, and, lest it be misinterpreted, it has not taken it in order to satisfy any notional public demand for blame and punishment.

"It has taken the decision because, in its judgment, the reputation of the profession has to be at the forefront of its thinking and ultimately this is more important than the interests of Dr Russell.

"The decision is not simply based on the fact that these offences were of a sexual nature but because they were repeated over a significant period of time and at a time when Dr Russell must have known, on his own plea of guilty, that what he was doing was wrong.

"Further, the Committee can discern no evidence that Dr Russell has insight into the gravity of the offence he has committed.

"The Committee has therefore directed the Registrar to remove his name from the Register forthwith.”

Dr Russell has 28 days from being notified of his removal from the Register to lodge an appeal with Privy Council.