Join the debate and improve animal welfare: AWF Discussion Forum 12 May 2014

Don’t miss the chance to add your voice to the debate on important topical animal welfare issues by registering now for the Animal Welfare Foundation's annual Discussion Forum.

AWF is the charity led by the veterinary profession. Our Discussion Forum brings together vets, vet nurses, animal welfare organisations, the media and parliamentarians to confront current welfare issues and inspire change.

Topics under discussion this year include:

• What psychological factors are involved in the growing problem of animal hoarding?
• Is a legislative muddle on animal transport causing extra pain, discomfort and distress?
• What does the offence of causing unnecessary suffering really mean?
• How pet MOTs are helping owners to understand the ‘five welfare needs’ message and improve the welfare of their pets.

 

With a dynamic cast of authoritative speakers, lots of time for audience interaction and the chance to network with others who share your interest in improving animal welfare, the Forum is not to be missed.

When:   Monday 12 May 2014 (10am to 5pm)

Where:  One Great George Street, London SW1P 3AA

Delegates are also welcome to attend the joint AWF/BVA House of Commons reception afterwards from 7pm to 9pm.

For more information visit the AWF website where you can book online

Delegate rates

• Standard £85
• Registered Veterinary Nurses £50
• Recent graduates (up to eight years post-graduation) £50
• Veterinary undergraduates £30
  Price includes a two course lunch and refreshments.

We hope to see you there.

Florence Bowman

AWF Administration Manager

7 Mansfield Street
London W1G 9NQ

Telephone: 020 7908 6375
Email: bva-awf@bva.co.uk
Website: www.bva-awf.org.uk

Registered charity: 287118

Dick Vet and Roslin staff go to India

Animal health and welfare experts from Edinburgh are taking part in an international conference in Bangalore.

The five-day event, which is being organised jointly by the University, will look at ways to improve the quality of life for both livestock and pets, as well as diseases threatening India’s wildlife.

Topics for discussion include new techniques to address infectious diseases in herd animals; finding new ways to tackle India’s growing problem of rabid dogs; and examining treatments for other zoonotic diseases - those affecting both humans and animals.

“Advances in Veterinary Research: Impact and Opportunities” opens on 19 February and includes a public lecture on the subject of genetically-engineered livestock.

              “The improvement of animal health and, by association,
                human health in India is a pressing concern, especially
                with the numbers of domestic and livestock animals set
                to rise significantly in the coming years. My colleagues
                and I want to learn from India’s experience and use our
                expertise to help tackle a diverse range of animal
                diseases and welfare issues”.

                  Professor Natalie Waran
                    Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, the University of Edinburgh


Working together

The conference is a collaborative event between the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Commonwealth Veterinary Association; Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bidar; and the National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore.

              “India is a tremendously important country for the
               University of Edinburgh. The quality of the students who
               apply to us is very high and the numbers wishing to
               study at Edinburgh continues to rise. This conference will
               allow discussion of crucially important issues that affect
               India and the wider world and I look forward to valuable
               partnerships being established between Edinburgh and
               our friends in India”.

                 Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea
                   Principal, the University of Edinburgh


Online learning for all 

Conference delegates will also hear about Edinburgh’s use of technology to provide distance-learning opportunities for around the world.

In addition to a large number of postgraduate courses, Edinburgh has pioneered the provision of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). These free online courses are available to anyone. Typically lasting six weeks, Edinburgh’s MOOCs include courses such as “Animal Behaviour and Welfare” and “The Discovery of the Higgs boson”.

To date, more than 600,000 people have enrolled for Edinburgh’s MOOCs.


Working with India

Edinburgh has a long history of collaboration with Indian universities and research institutes. In 1875 the Indian Association, the first South Asian Student Association ever in the United Kingdom was founded at Edinburgh and the following year saw the first Indian student graduate from the University.

Over the past few decades Edinburgh’s relationship with India has grown and strengthened and this year the University has almost 250 Indian students enrolled- more than twice as many as 5 years ago.

In 2013, the University launched the Edinburgh India Institute. This provides a focal point to collate all research and cultural links between Edinburgh and India. Activities in 2013 included hosting a visit from students with disabilities from Delhi University and sending a group of over 80 Edinburgh students on the College on Wheels project across northern India.

The University’s India office, based in Mumbai, provides a local liaison point for Edinburgh’s activities across the country.

Advancing animal welfare in India – Next week’s international conference in Bangalore

With a rising human population there is an associated greater demand for food particularly in rapidly developing countries such as India. Alongside this there is increasing international concern about standards of animal health and welfare and an enhanced awareness of the need to find effective and sustainable measures to produce safe food to safeguard human welfare. Over recent years we have increasingly looked to our nation’s veterinarians to ensure that the animals used for food, companionship or research are not only productive and healthy but are also managed humanely. It is becoming increasingly emphasised that international standards of animal welfare are vital not only for animal disease management, but also for sustainable productivity, food safety and public health, and there is an expectation that the veterinary profession take a leading role in promoting respect for animals in a progressive society.

Understanding the issues and finding new ways of enhancing animal health and welfare is clearly a complex and important area and one that is of particular relevance to the veterinary community in India. Early next week, scientists from Edinburgh will travel to Bangalore to present at an International animal health and welfare conference. The conference brings together the Commonwealth Veterinary Association who in partnership with other organizations is playing a lead role in addressing the problems of animal welfare throughout its member countries, with the University of Edinburgh and associated research institutes, such as the Roslin Institute and Scotland’s Rural College.  The key organisers, Dr Abdul Rahman, President of the CVA and Professor Nat Waran, Director of the RDSVS’s Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare, have put together a 5 day programme which will not only explore advances in veterinary research and key messages for India, but will also address the internationally important issues of animal welfare and canine rabies control. It is expected that this gathering of animal scientists, veterinarians, NGO’s and government representatives will allow the exploration of opportunities for new international collaborations to enable the sharing of best practice and development of new initiatives for advancing animal health and welfare research, education, policy and practice in India and wider afield.

Red squirrels living on a Scottish island are fighting fit, say University vets.

A survey of the animals on the Isle of Arran has been conducted by scientists who are monitoring the population in a bid to help save the species.

They have found the squirrels to be in excellent health and showing few signs of disease.

Welcome findings

Researchers were particularly relieved to find no evidence of the deadly squirrelpox virus.

Keeping squirrelpox at bay is vital to red squirrel survival and being on an island gives Arran’s population the best chance of avoiding this disease.

The findings are good news for the future of this endangered species.

Competition threat

Red squirrels around the UK are under threat from deadly diseases and competition for food and habitat from grey squirrels, which were introduced to Britain from North America in the 19th century.

Arran is one of 19 red squirrel strongholds in Scotland - there are no grey squirrels on the island.

Red squirrels are found in both deciduous and coniferous woods all over the island.

Animal health

The survey was led by vets and scientists at the University’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and funded by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and Forestry Commission Scotland.

The team humanely trapped and examined 21 live squirrels with the help of local foresters and rangers.

Vets also examined the remains of 16 squirrels that had been killed on the roads.

Detailed health checks included tests for common squirrel diseases, such as parasites and viruses, and also investigated the genetics of the animals.

“Some populations of red squirrels have been found to have high levels of diseases, and lack of genetic diversity could also affect their health, so we’re delighted to find that Arran’s red squirrels are fit and healthy.” Professor Anna Meredith

 

Squirrel photo by Alistair Rae

Animal welfare given a regional focus in Singapore

Animal welfare given a regional focus in Singapore

Last week Heather Bacon of the JMICAWE travelled to Singapore to attend the Asia for Animals Conference. Asia for Animals is a regional coalition of NGOs working on diverse animal welfare issues across the region http://asiaforanimals.com

The conference brings together animal welfare experts, campaigners and grassroots groups to share information and expertise on techniques to improve welfare ranging from effective utilisation of social media to resolving conflict at the human-wildlife interface. Heather delivered a lecture during the main session on ‘Animal welfare – moving beyond the Five Freedoms’ and ran a workshop session on optimising veterinary care’, focusing on issues relating to pain recognition and management. In addition workshops on the ‘dog meat trade’ and ‘dog population management’ provided opportunities to discuss some of the work done by the JMICAWE in these areas.

Building capacity and skills using clinical training materials and evidence based on research is a crucial part of the work done by JMICAWE and we look forward to the next meeting in 2015!

Talk on - A future for genetically engineered livestock

Commonwealth Veterinary Association and Karnataka Veterinary Council
in association with The University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies are organising a talk in India:

Date and time: 19th February 2014, 3pm

Venue: Karnataka Veterinary Council auditorium, Veterinary College campus, Hebbal, Bangalore

Title: "A future for genetically engineered livestock"

Presented by Professor Bruce Whitelaw - Head of Division of Developmental Biology at the Roslin Institute and Professor of Animal Biotechnology

Professor Whitelaw’s research focus throughout his career has been the development and application of gene expression systems in transgenic animals.

Having pioneered the use of lentivirus vectors for transgene delivery, he is currently establishing robust methodology for genome editing in livestock and seeks to apply this technology in the field of animal biotechnology. Specifically, he aims to exploit this knowledge to develop innovative biotechnological solutions to combat infectious disease in animals, evaluate new treatments of human disease through transgenic animal models, and establish efficient protein production systems in animals.

He is the current Editor-in-Chief of ‘Transgenic Research’ and a past member of the OIE Ad hoc Group on Biotechnology.

The Roslin Institute is a UK National Institute of Bioscience (NIB) and is part of the University of Edinburgh’s, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. The Roslin Institute undertakes top-class basic and translational science to tackle some of the most pressing issues in animal health and welfare, their implications for human health and for the role of animals in the food chain. The Institute won international fame in 1996, when Professor Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell and their colleagues created ‘Dolly the Sheep’, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell.

For more information contact: Pankaj Muthe - pankaj.muthe@ed.ac.uk

JMICAWE awarded Dogs Trust Canine Welfare Grant

The JMICAWE team here at the R(D)SVS received welcome news over the festive period  when they discovered that their application for a Dogs Trust Canine Welfare Research Grant had been successful.

The research proposal entitled ‘Developing and validating a robust canine welfare audit system for use in Trap Neuter Return (TNR) programmes,’ aims to develop an effective framework to evaluate the welfare of individual dogs through trap-neuter-return programmes.

Trap-neuter-return (TNR) of free-ranging domestic dogs is an important tool in preventing conservation problems such as infectious disease transfer to wildlife populations and hybridisation with endangered wild canidae. Additionally TNR is recommended by the OIE as a tool to combat problems relating to dog overpopulation such as zoonotic disease e.g. rabies, shelter overpopulation, and dog bite attacks on humans

Veterinarian Heather Bacon of the JMICAWE, who is leading the project said

“Whilst well-planned TNR programmes are a useful tool in addressing these issues, it is important to recognise that welfare of the individual dog may be compromised by a population management approach. This project seeks to develop a framework by which we can objectively assess the impact of TNR population management programmes on the welfare of the individual dogs experiencing TNR.”

The Dogs Trust is supported by our Head of School Prof David Argyle, who acts as a trustee, and collaborative projects with the Dogs Trust including both the Canine Welfare Grant research project and Veterinary training initiatives in Sarejevo, Bosnia, have been supported by Professor Natalie Waran, Director of the Centre, and Hayley Walters RVN of the JMICAWE.

 

 JMICAWE Veterinary welfare and outreach manager Heather Bacon training Chinese students in appropriate neutering, anaesthesia and analgesia techniques.

 

JMICAWE Animal welfare and Anaesthesia Veterinary nurse Hayley Walters (centre), training Bosnian vets as part of a collaborative Dogs Trust training programme

 

Excellent article from Edinburgh's animal welfare specialist Cathy Dwyer

Better care for pregnant animals can have a positive and lifelong effect on their offspring, says Cathy Dwyer

WE KNOW that the love and support of parents, especially in our early years, is critical to human development. Not only does a parent provide the food, shelter and comfort we need, they also help us shape our thoughts, opinions and cultural references.

For many domestic and farmed animals, the reality is quite different. They are often separated from their mothers at an early age. Scientists, including a team at Scotland’s Rural College, are trying to assess how that affects the offspring – and we are finding that good welfare begins in the womb.

Read the full story by clicking on this article.

Luke Gamble gives presentation at The Dick Vet on 17 January 2014.

The Dick Vet - LT2 @ 4pm

Title: "The role of the WVS in improving animal welfare"
 

Luke Gamble graduated from Bristol University in 1999 as a vet and then went on to Cambridge to specialise in large animal medicine and surgery. Although primarily based in his New Forest practice, Pilgrims, his voluntary  work with the Worldwide Veterinary Service charity 'which he founded in 2003' takes him much further afield and was the subject of two TV series on Sky 1. He also runs an emergency service for animals in Dorset and a pet travel company.

Open to staff and students.

PRESTIGIOUS ANIMAL WELFARE AWARD GOES TO UK VETERINARY ORGANISATION

Each year, the Trustee’s of the respected international grant making charity the Marchig Animal Welfare Trust, recognise through its top Award individuals or organisations for their outstanding services to animal welfare.  The Trustee’s are therefore pleased to announce, that the recipient of the prestigious “Jeanne Marchig Animal Welfare Award 2013” is Luke Gamble MRCVS, the Founder and CEO of the Worldwide Veterinary Service, based in the UK. 

Luke Gamble established the Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) in 2003 to alleviate animal suffering and improve the moral perception of animals worldwide by co-ordinating teams of veterinary volunteers to assist the work of animal welfare organisations; supplying medicines, equipment and advice where they are most needed; and providing sustainable input, building long term relationships and establishing education programmes for the benefit of local animal and human populations. 

Since its inception, WVS has sent many hundreds of volunteer ‘veterinary teams’ to almost every continent of the world, including when required ‘Emergency Response Teams’ to help the needy ‘front line’ animal welfare and protection organisations alleviate the cruelty and suffering inflicted on animals in their areas and thus enable them to cope better with the demands placed upon them.  WVS has also sent to these and other organisations each year, hundreds of thousands of pounds of free veterinary medicines, equipment and materials which it had sourced from supportive veterinary companies. 

Luke Gamble through WVS, established an International Training Centre (ITC) in India, which provides a platform for both vets in India and worldwide to learn best practice techniques in areas such as humane stray animal population control and vaccination programmes.  In addition, this year he spearheaded a new initiative in India entitled ‘Mission Rabies’ which aims to undertake mass anti-rabies vaccination programmes in ten ‘hotspots’ whilst at the same time, running surgical training courses for local vets. The initial goal of this project was to vaccinate 50,000 dogs against rabies in one month.  However, instead with a team of Indian and international vets, local charity workers and volunteers, incredibly over 61,000 dogs were vaccinated in just 28 days.

In announcing the 2013 winner of the Award, the Chairman of the Trustees, Les Ward commented:
“As in previous years, the Trustees of the Marchig Animal Welfare Trust received a large number of nominations for the Award from all over the world.  With so many worthy candidates, the decision was not easy.  Nevertheless, in the end the Trustees were unanimous that the “Jeanne Marchig Animal Welfare Award 2013” should be made to Luke Gamble, the Founder and CEO of the Worldwide Veterinary Service in recognition of his outstanding and tireless practical work over many years in the international field of animal welfare and protection.  Under his voluntary direction, WVS has become one of the most effective international animal welfare and protection organisations.  Through providing much needed support to other organisations throughout the world, WVS is making a huge difference in the fight to help, protect and alleviate the suffering of animals.  Both Luke and WVS are worthy recipients of this Award”.

In receiving the “Jeanne Marchig Animal Welfare Award 2013”, Luke Gamble said:

“It is a huge honour to receive this award and I would like to thank the Trustees very much. The Marchig Trust has long been a source of inspiration to charities and individuals involved in animal welfare around the world, and for WVS to be recognised in this way is a huge lift to both me and the whole team. The pledge is to now direct this fantastic award towards making a difference where it counts – on the front line of animal welfare, championing the united ideals of both WVS and The Marchig Trust.”

 

International Veterinary Education meeting held in Thailand

Staff at the JMICAWE have just returned from a successful visit to the Kasetsart University in Thailand, where they delivered a workshop on integrating animal welfare and problem-based learning into the veterinary curriculum. Delegates from the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia as well as from Veterinary schools across Thailand, and also the WSPA, attended the workshop.

 

The workshop covered essential aspects of international veterinary training including critical thinking skills, problems-solving approaches and providing education for different leaning styles utilising the theme of animal welfare to demonstrate how best to introduce new subjects into exiting teaching.

 

The workshop also challenged existing paradigms in veterinary education and discussed the importance of animal welfare in practice, exemplified by the use of non-animal models and manikins into the curriculum, something which has been championed by Professor Apinam, the Dean of Kasetsart Veterinary School, and developer of rubber latex alternatives to animals.

 

Heather Bacon of the JMICAWE said ” We are delighted with the success of the workshop and with the strong focus on utilising alternatives to animals in veterinary teaching that we found at Kasetsart. Through our collaborative activities, Professor Apinam in Thailand has already sent some of his models to our colleagues in veterinary schools in China, and we at the JMICAWE hope to continue to support these collaborations across Asia”.

 

 

 

Congratulations to our MSc Animal Behaviour & Welfare graduates

Congratulations to our MSc Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare students of 2012-13 who graduated recently. 

 

It was a fantastic ceremony in the amazing McEwan Hall, with everyone enjoying wearing their gowns, being presented with their certificates and even singing along with the Graduation Choir! 

 

Following post ceremony celebrations with numerous photos being taken and many hugs being given from proud families and friends (and equally proud staff members) - we all headed off to the beautiful Playfair Library for a Graduation Lunch. 

 

Well done to everyone.

 

Dr Susan Jarvis

Programme Director

 

MSc AABAW

 

'Farmed Salmon – Scotland’s largest agricultural export. But what about their welfare?'

Prof Jimmy Turnbull gave an excellent seminar here at the Vet School recently.   His talk was entitled 'Farmed Salmon – Scotland’s largest agricultural export.  But what about their welfare?'.   Jimmy gave us an overview of the Salmon Industry within Scotland including the production and management systems used, the training of staff in animal welfare, environmental and predation issues and welfare accreditation schemes within the industry. 

He then moved on to discuss many of the welfare issues that are of concern within the industry such as the effects of repeated handling, conspecific aggression, crowding, feeding methods and feed restriction, as well as issues related to disease and at the time of slaughter.  He presented scientific findings in relation to these welfare issues such as whether salmon show preference for shade, and the finding that crowding and feed restriction can lead to increased conspecific aggression.  We also talked about the importance of temperature gradients within the environment in enabling fish to cope better with disease challenges.

Although in animal welfare research, animal based measures are normally recorded at the individual level, we spent quite a bit of time discussing the difficulties of this approach in fish, and that in fish it is more practical to record welfare outcomes at the population level. 

Overall there are lots of challenges facing us in terms of fish welfare – how do we assess preference in fish?, can we measure fish welfare at the individual level?, can we develop robust fish welfare assessment tools?  Lots of food for thought.

The seminar attracted many undergraduate vet students, our MSc students, staff and even those from the Scottish Government.

Many thanks to Jimmy for a stimulating presentation

 

 

 

 

18th CVA Asian Regional Meeting and UoE Conference - Feb.2014

18th CVA Asian Regional Meeting and Conference ,Bangalore India.

The Commonwealth Veterinary Association (CVA) in association with The University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, will be hosting the 18th CVA Asian Regional Meeting and Conference on 20 – 24 February 2014, in the NIANP Auditorium, Adugodi, Bangalore, India.

Both Professor Nat Waran and Heather Bacon from the JMICAWE will be presenting at the conference, where a variety of speakers will be covering topics on “Advances in Veterinary Research: Impact and Opportunities”.

 

Click here for draft programme - http://commonwealthvetassoc.org/