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Tag: Defra

  • PETS with rabies, in the UK?

    dog with rabies
    Close-up of a dog’s face during late-stage “dumb” paralytic rabies. Animals with “dumb” rabies appear depressed, lethargic, and uncoordinated. Gradually they become completely paralyzed. When their throat and jaw muscles are paralyzed, the animals will drool and have difficulty swallowing. Image credit: CDC/Barbara Andrews

    Lectures on legislation regarding veterinary-related issues are never the most interesting, often involving endless lists of dates and figures, but the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) lecture this week had a slight edge to it.

    Among other important factors, such as microchipping and documentation, the focus was quite obviously on the recent changes to the rules regarding rabies.

    It was evident that abolishing the blood test was not a great move in the opinion of this particular lecturer. But he’s not alone – there seems to be a ripple of discomfort throughout the veterinary community in response to the new regulations.

    Pets are now free to travel within the EU just 21 days after having received one dose of the rabies vaccine, despite the incubation period of rabies being up to three months.

    Although Defra claims the risk of rabies entering the UK is still very low, there still seems to be an underlying concern within the veterinary world.

    It has been proposed that the potential increase in risk of exposure to rabies means that vets should be routinely receiving the rabies vaccination.

    I myself have had a course of rabies vaccinations. Not because I’m a vet student, but because I was travelling in South America, where there was a possibility of coming into contact with rabid animals.

    However, my understanding is that the vaccine does not prevent you developing rabies if bitten, but just puts it off for 24hrs, to give you time to get back to the UK to be appropriately treated. With this in mind, would providing the vaccine for those working in the veterinary profession in the UK be of any benefit if it is purely used to “buy time”?

    I’m not convinced that vaccinating vets would be an effective measure to take, but we must now include rabies as one of our differential diagnoses and be open to the possibility (however slim) of being presented with rabid animals in practice. Perhaps more advice about the risks and clinical signs of rabies would put the minds of vets and owners alike at rest.

  • Things aren’t always black and white

    Things aren’t always black and white

    Badger
    Image ©iStockphoto.com/Freder

    The RSPCA revealed this week that an e-petition against the Government’s badger cull had achieved a “record number of signatures“, with more than 260,000 people (and counting…) signing up to protest against the shooting of badgers as a way of combating bovine TB.

    This huge figure makes “Stop the Badger Cull” the best supported petition of its kind – although that’s not particularly surprising, particularly when you bear in mind the emotive aspect of the subject matter, the active support of numerous popular celebrities and plenty of prime-time coverage for the cause (including BBC’s The One Show).

    However, it’s probably fair to say that the majority of those signatories were not persuaded into it through the use of indisputable facts and figures – mainly because such figures do not exist. If they did, Defra wouldn’t consider killing badgers in the first place, would it?

    This problem has been ongoing for years, during which time UK cattle farmers have had to jump through hoops (slaughtering livestock, introducing improved cattle controls, improving biosecurity and participating in pre-movement testing) while the Government “ummed and ahhed” over culling badgers for fear of public backlash.

    So, now Defra has finally found the backbone to agree to these pilot culls, wouldn’t it be counterproductive to allow a petition (however big) to put a stop to it?

    Yes, this petition’s figures are impressive. But if you want to be fair then you should also note the NFU’s YouGov poll from May 2013, which showed that only 34% of people surveyed were opposed to a badger cull – 27% of whom would change their minds if it stopped bTB from spreading to other areas of the UK.

    Extrapolating, that means 66% of the British public either support (29%), don’t know (22%) or have no strong feelings (15%) about a cull – the equivalent of a petition with more than half a million signatures (504,705).

    But the guitarist from Queen isn’t promoting that petition, is he?

  • To cull or not to cull?

    To cull or not to cull?

    For some time now, the badger cull debate has been ongoing, and finally, despite continuing setbacks from the RSPCA and other supporters of “Team Badger”, such as iconic Brian May, things seem to be moving.

    Brian May
    Brian May filming for the BBC’s The One Show for an anti-badger culling campaign. By Norbie (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
    With a well-loved famous figure heading the “against” argument for the cull, the public are easily led to believe that this argument must be the right one. Unfortunately, however, the naivety of these “townies” obscures their view of the bigger picture.

    Since the proposal of the cull, badgers have become something of a national mascot, with the public claiming that they are an irreplaceable element of the British countryside; part of the wildlife we simply cannot afford to lose. This is all very well, but before the proposal of the cull, were they seen as anything more than roadkill that could easily write off your car? And I wonder that if it were found that rats or pigeons were carrying a disease such as TB, would there be equal public outcry?

    The RSPCA claims that culling is not the solution to the problem of TB in cattle. Again, it’s difficult for the sheltered public to consider the possibility that the most well known animal charity in the country could have gotten it wrong. The truth is, the cull would never have been suggested if there were no need for it. We are not a nation of bloodthirsty, mindless killers, but we are a nation that believes in doing what’s right for our animals.

    Defra claims there is scientific evidence for an increased incidence of bovine TB in areas where the badger population is high. In areas where, 10 years ago, TB was unheard of, since an increase in badger numbers, the disease is now rife among cattle. This effects both the beef and the dairy industry considerably, and cannot be allowed to continue to do so. It essential that we halt the increasing incidence of bovine TB, and currently, our key method of control would be to, indeed, pursue the badger cull.

    RSPCA's badger petition logo
    Thanks to increased publicity, such as this ‘anti-cull’ poster from the RSPCA, badgers have become something of a national mascot.

    For many farmers, badgers are seen as pests in a similar way to foxes. In addition to carrying TB, they destroy land and have been known to steal stock, such as chickens. I doubt there are many farmers that are opposed to the cull.

    One of the most significant arguments against the cull is that vaccination could be used as an alternative. However, vaccination would be considerably more expensive and time consuming, not mention less effective than the cull. While possible, this alternative is simply not plausible.

    There is a proposed public march in London on June 1 to protest the badger cull. It would be interesting to see what proportion of people turn out to wave their banners. Will there be many people that see the TB problem on a day-to-day basis, such as vets and farmers, or will the protesters predominantly comprise those who like to think of badgers as cute and cuddly, but have an involvement in the dairy industry that extends only as far as buying milk from the local supermarket?

    As a vet student, I believe it is important to have an opinion and take a moral standing on issues such as this. On more than one occasion, I have found myself quizzed about my view on the cull, based on my course of study. We need to be prepared and be able to respond to public interrogation with calmly reasoned arguments. After all, we will be the face of the veterinary profession before we know it.

  • Let’s not hope for a hat-trick

    Over the course of the last week, Great Britain has said an uncomfortable “hello” to two of its more nefarious foes, in the form of avian influenza (Suffolk) and the Schmallenberg virus (Dumfriesshire).  (more…)

  • Vets aren't limited to life in practice

    Image ©iStock.com/nsj-images

    When many people think of veterinary jobs, they think of those in the industry who work in veterinary practices, dealing with pets and farm animals who need examination or treatment. The truth, however, is that veterinary training can make it possible to work in a variety of different roles for different organisations – it’s the key to a career that can be incredibly varied.

    Those who work in a general practice will find their roles are quite diverse: day-to-day tasks could include the diagnosis and treatment of animals, operations, diagnostic tests, health checks, vaccinations, neutering and more. However, there are other career options that those with veterinary training may like to consider.

    Some vets choose to work in industry rather than choose to have daily contact with animals, with industry roles available for those interested in working with biological products, chemicals and drugs to develop, test and work on the production of such substances.

    Others may opt for a career that is more about regulation and standards, choosing to focus on a career that involves inspecting premises such as pet shops, zoos, farms, cattle markets, riding stables, catteries and kennels, in order to ensure the standards of care and hygiene present in these places comply with legal requirements.

    Alternatively, there are openings available for those who are veterinary trained and are looking to work in the public health sector.

    Bodies such as the Department for Environment, Health and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) work to help to both prevent and control outbreaks of disease that are spread by animals, with roles like these possibly including such tasks as working on the prevention of foot-and-mouth disease, or visiting slaughter houses and food processing plants to assess the ways in which the risk of the spread of disease can be reduced.

    It is clear that good veterinary training – and the right skill set – can open doors to a variety of different careers. The important thing for you is to decide just which one is the right one for you…