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Tag: exotics

  • How to approach the bleeding patient, part 1

    How to approach the bleeding patient, part 1

    My patient is bleeding – what do I do?

    A bleeding patient can be overwhelming but there are only a few pieces of equipment that you need and a step-by-step approach.

    1. Ask yourself the question:

    “Is my patient bleeding due to local issue (trauma, for example) or from a system coagulopathy?”

    If a local issue is suspected like trauma, then treat as required. If unsure, treat the trauma anyway and then put your Sherlock Holmes hat on and let’s get started…

    2. Assess the history

    Important history questions:

    Recent trauma?

    This will help determine of the bleed was spontaneous or precipitated by injury

    Is rodenticide used on the property?

    Pro tip: Don’t ask if there is access to rat bait as a lot of owners don’t believe their dog can get to it and will say no.

    Does your pet live in an enclosed yard or apartment building?

    Snakes can cause coagulopathies, and are a common in some areas. However, it if the pet lives in an enclosed yard or inside an apartment building then snake bites are less likely, unless they are walked or have a property near bushland

    History of previous successful surgeries?

    Yes? Unlikely congenital

    Current medications?

    Some medications can cause a thrombocytopaenia although rare to be severe enough to cause spontaneous bleeding.

    3. Consider the signalment

    Amazingly the signalment can give us a good idea as well.

    • Young dog: Due to their inquisitive nature, snake bites or rodenticide are more likely.
    • Very young: Congenital should be considered, although they can be just as inquisitive.
    • Older patients: Tend to behave themselves and therefore are more likely to get acquired diseases.
    • Doberman: Prone to primary platelet factor disease, Von Willebrands.
    • Devon Rex: Prone to secondary coagulation disease
    • Greyhounds: Excessive breakdown of formed clots, fibrinolysis syndrome.

    You may already have a likely diagnosis in your mind, or have a narrowed differential list just from these history questions and considering the signalment.

    In part two we will cover the physical exam and primary vs secondary coagulopathies.

  • Are rabbits really ‘exotic’?

    Are rabbits really ‘exotic’?

    According to PDSA [PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report 2022], rabbits are the third most popular pet in the UK behind dogs and cats. With an estimated 1.1 million pet rabbits in the country, that’s about about a tenth of the population of pet dogs and cats, which hover around the 9 to 10 million mark.

    So, if the pet ratio of dogs/cats:rabbits is 10:1, why isn’t this reflected in our teaching? Despite rabbit populations being endemic to the UK for more than a thousand years, they always seem to get lumped with guinea pigs and the cold-blooded pets like lizards and corn snakes when it comes to textbooks or university curriculums.

    I can confidently say my education on rabbit physiology and medicine has been dramatically less than 10% of what I’ve received for small animal medicine. Perhaps this is why many vets, especially new or recent graduates, feel more confident handing off any rabbit patients to the resident “expert” of the practice or even referring to an exotics specialist, rather than seeing it themselves.

    Accessibility

    It’s a sad truth that the less convenient education and health care are to access, the less people will reach for them. By extension, the less veterinary practices that advertise care for rabbits (and other exotics), the less rabbits are likely to be registered at a practice and receive regular preventive care.

    For example, as a native to the land of Kent, I only know of two or three practices that would call themselves “exotic specialists” and I know that, for a lot of rabbit owners, traveling half way across the county to visit one of these few practices would not be practical or plausible. Perhaps this is why, according to PDSA reports, at least 11% of pet rabbits receive no preventive health care, including vaccinations.

    rabbit
    Rabbits are a social species that has evolved to live in groups, not alone.

    Education

    The value of a veterinary consultation is not simply to talk through clinical signs or address a flea outbreak in the home, it’s a chance for owners to discuss management issues or to ask for general advice. When rabbits aren’t brought in for routine consultations, then discussions about their diet, husbandry and behavioural needs don’t get to be had.

    Some vets are already worried that the development of an annual rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) booster rather than biannual is going to dramatically reduce rabbit welfare by halving the number of times these pets receive a clinical exam.

    Welfare

    Of course, like all “exotics”, there’s the argument to be made as to whether these animals are suitable pets in the first place. Personally, I feel that this is a moot point for the time being.

    The fact that more than 50% of pet rabbits are housed by themselves with no companionship speaks volumes about the lack of knowledge the general public possesses on how to care for these animals. However, with more than a million of them currently out there, they’re not going away anytime soon.

    The best we can do as professionals is educate our clients so welfare can be maximised as much as possible… and that starts with educating ourselves. I hope that in the near future the landscape of the veterinary degree can shift to better reflect the current demand for exotic vets – or at least rabbit vets.

  • Don’t limit yourself

    Don’t limit yourself

    Fourth year at vet school seems to finish before it’s even begun – and that’s not a romanticism.

    It’s only six months (running from September to February), so even if you factor in time spent on exams, it sort of feels like cramming a whole year into just half the space of time. Like too much butter over too little bread.

    Short year

    There are many maladies of fourth year that nobody quite prepares you for.

    For starters, exams come before Easter (so you don’t even get a chocolate fix while revising), there’s no real summer holiday (unless you count an overseas EMS placement) and – the scary part – it’s the stepping stone between being a plain ol’ student and basically being an actual vet.

    Despite these curveballs to the regular programming of the vet course, I believe fourth year has been my favourite so far. However, I’m not sure if it’s the nostalgia after intercalating for a year, the delicious lack of biochemistry and 9am dissections, or the slow and almost intangible sensation of everything coming together.

    Mixing bowl

    It’s most certainly a scary jolt when you realise that, academically speaking, the university staff have essentially taught you everything there is to teach you. There are no more ingredients to becoming a veterinary professional – all that’s left is to mix them all together and hope you come out fully baked.

    It’s also a familiar type of “scary” – like holding your unopened A-level results envelope, or moving out of home and into halls. It’s a precipice of the unknown, but there’s also a lot of potential there. Staring into the jaws of final year is a humbling experience and it feels like the beginning of the end of a very long journey.

    Looking back, the past five years seem like a blur and despite the fact most of the friends I started university with are now working 9 to 5 and getting on the property ladder, I can’t quite believe I’m already here. Is it really that time already?

    Limitless

    Academics aside (you know, the actual important bit), I’d say my takeaway from my time so far probably boils down to just one point: don’t limit yourself.

    This applies to every aspect of life at vet school – from trying different clubs and sports in your first year, to keeping your options open when it comes to what type of vet you actually want to be. For example, when I first started writing for Vet Times as a wee 19 year old, I knew down to my bones that I wanted to be a farm vet… until I didn’t.

    That’s not to say that cows aren’t still the cutest things that fill me with absolute joy, because they do. It’s even become a sort of car game among my vet friends to point out fields of them on long journeys. The fact of the matter is, I don’t know what I want to be any more, unless there’s an option for everything?

    Growing confusion

    I never really considered myself an exotics enthusiast, or a conservationist, or a wildlife welfare advocate until halfway through my veterinary degree, and with each passing EMS placement I become more and more torn as to which area I’d like to branch into.

    “Don’t limit yourself” is also applicable to your life and interests outside of the course, to giving yourself a much-needed break during the revision period, and not being scared to ask questions of that vet who knows everything now, but was once just like you.

    Don’t miss out

    It makes for a very cheesy motto, but if you get too caught up in where you think you should be going when you first start vet school, you might miss out on some really incredible opportunities along the way.

    It’s natural for you to end up being a very different person at the end of the course than you were when you first applied (a culmination of all of those years and experiences) – I know I certainly am.

  • Research the change you want to see in the world

    Research the change you want to see in the world

    As a good 60% of my masters is research based, there will come a time, all too soon, when I must decide definitively what avenue of research I want to explore.

    We don’t have much time to touch upon research or develop our skills in the area on the vet course due to the huge level of content we need to consume throughout the five years, but those skills are both highly transferable and infinitely invaluable in the field of exotics and conservation.

    Choices, choices…

    I’ve been looking forward to the research aspect of this course for the best part of the last six months but it’s shocking just how difficult it is to pick a single topic to dedicate yourself to.

    Topics include:

    • one health
    • immunology
    • genetics
    • behaviour
    • marine biology
    • climate change
    • wildlife
    • domestic animal studies

    …the list is quite something.

    Making your mark

    What it all boils down to though, is what really sparks an interest in you? What questions do you want the answers to? What species hold a special place in your heart, and what field do you want to expand your knowledge in?

    For me, the question I’ve begun to ask myself is: what is the change I want to help bring about?

    As a veterinary professional you can’t always let yourself be swayed by issues of the heart, yet there are many aspects of animal welfare, captivity and treatment that make this far easier said than done.

    The trouble is that we live in a world of law and legislation and attempting to enact change driven purely by an emotional standpoint will get you nowhere. You cannot simply request for laws to be changed or regulations to be put in place because it’s “the right thing to do”. You must scientifically enforce your argument, and that means peer reviewed, tried and tested research.

    Agent for change

    It wasn’t until 2012 that battery farmed eggs were outlawed in the UK, and only in 2016 did SeaWorld – a multi-million dollar entertainment enterprise – pledge to end their removal of Orcas from the wild and their captive breeding programme.

    Some might argue that these changes are on completely different levels and have different value, but neither would have been brought about without the tireless work of countless dedicated professionals who took the time to bring facts together into a case that changed laws that had been around for decades.

    It’s a long old process, the documentary Blackfish (which inarguably had a hand in the decline in SeaWorld’s popularity) took months to produce, and it took an additional three years after it’s release for it’s impacts to come to fruition. With this in mind, I wonder just how much change I’m really capable of with my three-month research project – which, due to COVID-19, is almost certainly set to be entirely desk-based.

    Little by little

    I believe even the small changes are important; even those made by collecting data and typing up hypotheses and conclusions from home – even if you don’t actually get to spend any time working with the animal whose quality of life you’re trying to improve.

    I have a particular interest in stereotypies – which, for those not in the know, are repetitive movements, sounds or behaviours displayed by captive animals due to frustration or a lack of mental or social stimulation. They are the direct consequence of human intervention in their natural behaviours, and ever since learning about them in the first year of the vet course the topic has stayed with me.

    If I’m lucky enough to explore this field at the start of next year I’ll be grateful for any minor contribution I can make to the far too-small pool of research that is thankfully starting to grow.

  • Chasing waterfalls

    Chasing waterfalls

    Sticking to what you’re used to is both safe and comfortable; getting to where I am now was neither of those things. All through secondary school, people told me trying to become a vet was too much effort – that if I was having to try as hard as I was, then maybe it wasn’t worth it.

    Now, as I prepare to intercalate between the third and fourth years of my vet course, I have people balking at the idea of taking on an additional hurdle.

    The truth is I’ve been hurtling along these tracks I’ve laid for myself for an awfully long time – back before I knew superhero wasn’t a viable backup career or that, sadly, you have to be born a princess.

    A different path

    It’s a scary concept to hop on to a new path for a while – one that isn’t so black and white – and steer in the direction of what I think is north. But it’s also very exciting.

    From September, I’ll be undertaking an MSc Global Wildlife Health and Conservation course – and recently receiving an update email on what my intercalation course will look like post-outbreak made me almost giddy with anticipation.

    Government guidelines and international pandemics permitting, I’m looking forward to a lot of hands-on, skill-based learning, working on interpreting data and building my own research project (more on that to come).

    Less of the same

    All vet courses taught up and down the country are very similar (because they have to be) and, therefore, reward you with a certain skill set and career outlook. By intercalating I am hoping to expand each of these to narrow in my sights on the areas of animal-centred fields that strike the strongest chords within me.

    From the first day of vet school my eyes began opening to the impacts of our lives on the populations of the species with whom we share this planet; issues I wasn’t happy to tolerate and didn’t even know I had been.

    Big, jaw-dropping horrors like dolphin hunting, stereotypes of captive animals and chicks on conveyor belts hurtling towards a meat grinder, down to the more subtle disasters such as quickly evaporating insect populations, awoke in me the drive I’d had as an infant to do this job in the first place.

    Making animals better

    As a six-year-old girl, my idea of what it meant to be a vet was simply “a person who made animals feel better”. At that age, I don’t think the concept was any more nuanced than that. But looking back, 15 years on, I don’t think it has to be.

    I know I’m not alone in wanting to leave this world a little better than I found it, and if this next year I’m embarking on brings me a little closer to my goal then I wouldn’t want to lose a single second.

    Complicated

    The big problems the veterinary community faces – along with the world as a whole – aren’t going to be changed overnight. My own lifestyle is an embodiment of just how complicated they are:

    • I agree all animals are entitled to freedom from pain and suffering, and although I try to reduce my consumption of meat, I am not vegetarian or vegan.
    • I do not believe in the captivity of large aquatic mammals, but as a child I enjoyed my visits to SeaWorld and wildlife parks to watch the dolphin shows.

    I don’t expect to solve the big issues or answer the big questions, but I want to contribute in any way I can.

    Unfortunately, conservation and exotics are not currently primary areas of study on the veterinary course, and yet I cannot help but pursue them. I hope to bring the worlds together in the coming years, and fight for change with a double-edged sword.

  • Always learning

    Always learning

    Following the recent plea to the UK Government by the British Veterinary Association, I’ve seen several articles over the past month all addressing the welfare and ethical issues concerning the sale of rabbits by themselves.

    I’ll be honest, reading these articles has filled me with a mild sense of guilt as I myself had a single rabbit as my very first pet.

    What we consider normal

    I think rabbits are quite a common choice for first time pet owners as they give the impression of a very low-maintenance option when compared with a cat or a dog.

    However, the general public are sometimes under a misapprehension about what is normal for our pets, especially the small ones. The smaller the animal and the more different from ourselves, the harder it becomes to judge its behaviour and whether its needs are being met.

    That is why, for generations, people have been housing their goldfish in bowls and rabbits by themselves. In the same way all fish need a filter, a heat source and environmental stimulation, rabbits need companionship – just like us.

    The norm

    It makes perfect sense when you think about it: rabbits in the wild are social creatures that live in large colonies to help with rearing young and watching for predators. Primates are the same in that regard; our closest relatives enjoy the perks of group living. Both apes and humans have been seen to suffer from prolonged isolation – it makes us nervous, depressed and can have negative impacts on our health.

    Sadly, rabbit research has been a little thin on the ground until recent years, and nobody realised their loved and cherished fluffy friend was lonely or in any way deprived.

    Domesticated rabbits have been commonplace in the UK for a long while, although they were originally kept more for food than companionship. While this trend has changed dramatically, the way in which we house our rabbits has not.

    The blame game

    I loved the rabbit I had as a six-year-old – coming home to Flopsy (do forgive me for my lack of originality) was one of the favourite parts of my day. Neither I nor my parents knew any better than to keep him by himself, or indeed to feed him carrots like they were going out of fashion.

    Much like my six-year-old self, an alarming amount of the general public have no idea that carrots for rabbits are like chocolate for us. For such a small animal they are surprisingly high in sugars and since rabbits wouldn’t naturally eat root vegetables as part of their diet and like any good thing, eating too many can impact their health in the long run.

    With all of this in mind:

    • Who is to blame for all these common misunderstandings? Is it, in fact, the cartoon rabbit franchise with their carrot munching propaganda?
    • Is it the owner’s responsibility to research their animal before they bring it home, or is the role of the seller to ensure the buyer is making an informed purchase?
    • Does the vet have a duty to triple check the animal management of every pet they see – and is this truly feasible in an average 15-minute consult alongside the routine check-up and actual reason for the appointment?

    Collective responsibility

    When it comes to understanding our pets, I believe we’ve still got a long way to go – and I don’t think its fair to blame any one person or authority for misconceptions, myths or a general lack of education regarding animal husbandry.

    It’s probably best to say it’s down to everyone to do their bit towards making sure every animal is as content and cared for as legitimately as possible. Owners should certainly do their own research when it comes to pet ownership, but it is also the responsibility of every veterinary practitioner to be a willing source for this research.

    The pool of information we have on pet care is ever changing and expanding which can hopefully only mean good things for our furry friends.

  • A Merry Christmas for all the family

    A Merry Christmas for all the family

    Little things you don’t consider until you spend every waking moment looking at, thinking about, or learning about animals, is how one of our favourite times of year might impact the smaller members of our families.

    Awareness is rising on just how traumatic Guy Fawkes night can be for our furry friends, but there is a tendency to bring even more chaos inside the house during the Christmas period.

    Anxious pets, or those used to a small household, can find themselves overwhelmed when the whole extended family comes stampeding through the front door – it’s often exhausting for us, so just think how they must feel!

    The little things

    Take little measures like employing a commercial pheromone infuser in the house a few days before the festivities start to kick in, or give your pet a safe and quiet room in the house away from the main action where they can take refuge. Make sure, of course, that they have plenty of food and water and, perhaps, some comforting items like their favourite bedding and toys.

    Now don’t get me wrong, in my eyes Christmas is just as much about stuffing our faces as anything else, but making sure our pets don’t eat anything they shouldn’t is just as, if not more important, at this time of year.

    A few things to watch out for include mistletoe, holly and ivy, which are often in plentiful supply at Christmas. Take extra care with house rabbits or any other pets that would normally enjoy tucking into leafy greens. Small pieces of tinsel, plastic bristles from artificial Christmas trees, or wrapping paper can also cause stomach problems if ingested – and nobody wants a festive trip to the vets or dog sick in their stocking come Christmas morning.

    If you like to leave mince pies out for Father Christmas, make sure they are out of pets' reach. Image © Chris Leachman / Adobe Stock
    If you like to leave mince pies out for Father Christmas, make sure they are out of pets’ reach. Image © Chris Leachman / Adobe Stock

    Festive food

    Our favourite Christmas foods aren’t a good idea for our pets either, no matter how hard they beg. I know a lot of people are aware just how toxic chocolate can be to dogs and cats, but ingredients such as garlic, onions and alcohol are all equally dangerous. Mince pies also contain a lot of dried fruits, so if you like to leave some out for Father Christmas, take care to put them somewhere they can’t be snaffled before he arrives.

    It can feel nice to include our pets in the festivities by giving them an extra helping at dinner as well, but a lot of animals have very sensitive stomachs when it comes to diet changes, and a lot of dogs and many cats don’t have the ability to “self-regulate”, which means they will keep eating after they’re full – a bit like us. This can make them really unwell and have the opposite effect the owner desired.

    So, instead, the occasional biscuit treat or a new toy will probably go down just as well.

    Teachable moments

    Finally, teaching your family and friends all these little things can go a long way to protecting our pets over the holidays.

    Little things we take for granted like cracker bangs, festive fireworks, a busy house and lots of food are all parts of Christmas that we’ll never lose – and quite right! But that doesn’t mean our furry friends have to suffer during what’s meant to be one of the most joyful times of the year.

  • Keeping pets happy in the heat

    Keeping pets happy in the heat

    The English summer, though tardy as usual, has finally arrived – and while this is cause for celebration among humans, I thought it best to share a few words of caution about keeping our furry friends equally happy as the temperatures rise.

    Around this time of year, vets get a surge of patients coming in with signs of heat stroke, sunburn and dehydration – conditions that can often be prevented with just a few changes to routine and a little extra care.

    Unfortunately, dogs can’t sweat through their skin as we can, and rely predominantly on panting, drinking and radiating heat via their noses and paw pads to keep them cool. For this reason, a number of factors should be considered when it comes to making sure your pet is comfortable and healthy in the hotter months.

    Heat hints

    Looking for signs of panting and lethargy are good ways to tell if your pet is getting uncomfortable, but a good rule of thumb is: if it’s too hot for you in shorts and a T-shirt, it’s probably too hot for your dog in his permanent fluffy jumper.

    If your dog requires a muzzle, try to find one that allows it to drink and pant, to help it regulate its own temperature.

    On days at the hotter end of the spectrum, it’s also a good idea to walk your dog during the cooler hours – such as in the morning or evening/late afternoon – rather than at midday when the pavements are hottest, as cement and gravel that is too hot can burn its foot pads.

    Five second rule

    Blue Cross recently posted about a “Hot Day 5 Second Rule” for judging whether it’s too hot to walk your dog. It advises to stand on the pavement barefoot and if it’s too hot for you to bear after five seconds then it’s also too hot for your dog’s feet.

    It’s not just dogs, though – cats only sweat through their paws, so they, like dogs, will often choose shadier spots and/or sprawl themselves out over the coolest place in the house or garden they can find.

    However, unlike dogs, cats only use panting as a last resort, so if you see your cat panting, it’s a definite indicator you need to help it cool down. If your cat prefers the indoors then by making sure your house is ventilated and cool, with lots of water in supply, it should be pretty self-sufficient, as cats often are.

    If you have an outdoor cat, restricting its access to the garden on the hotter days of the year may seem cruel, but it is probably the best thing for it – especially if you’re intending on leaving the house, and won’t be around to let it in to drink and take shelter if it needs to.

    Hot exotics

    I haven’t seen a lot mentioned online about caring for your exotic pets in a heatwave, so I thought I’d briefly touch on it here. Of course, I’m not an expert, and if you wanted professional advice on how to properly care for your snake, lizard, bird and so on then asking your local vet is definitely the best course of action.

    However, small factors exist that people tend not to think about, such as turning off the heat mats and/or lamps in your reptile cages, as they’re not always needed when the external temperature is suitably high. Making sure cages aren’t in direct sunlight, but also aren’t in a draught, can be a fine line, but is also imperative.

    This goes for bird cages as well, and it can also help keep the cage cool to keep it lower to the ground (since heat rises) and, of course, provide plenty of water – both for drinking and bathing in certain bird species.

    Subtle signs

    We all want the best for our pets, and it can be easy to forget their needs are often different to ours in subtle, but important, ways. Knowing the signs of when your pet is happy and when it is not is the best way to help prevent issues such as heat stroke and lower the number of cases seen in practice.

    And, as always, if you’re unsure what signs to look for, or what precautions to take at any time of year, don’t hesitate to make an appointment with your vet to get some helpful advice.

  • Christmas and conservation

    Christmas and conservation

    As somebody with a passionate and, perhaps – one day – professional interest in conversation, I couldn’t help but draw my attention to the uproar over Iceland’s recently banned Christmas advert.

    The advert has been criticised for being “too political” as it highlights the unethical nature of using palm oil in commercial products and encourages viewers to avoid them. It focuses on rainforest deforestation and the devastating impact on the orangutans who call them home – and has helped shed light on an issue of which many people were previously unaware.

    Need to know

    Rangtan2
    “The Iceland advert focuses on the impact this reallocation of land has on orangutans and correlates their dwindling numbers in the wild to the mass production of palm oil.”

    The conservation movement has only lately begun to gain momentum – following on from the war against plastic and “save the rainforest” campaigns – so the media is fuming over the removal of the advert. And I have to say I too am disappointed.

    The advert’s message, though apparently ill-communicated, is one I feel desperately needs to be made to the public, yet is so rarely talked about. Palm oil is found in almost 50% of the products lining the shelves in our supermarkets, and yet, according to a survey conducted by Iceland, around a third of consumers didn’t know what it was. It’s in everything – from groceries to cosmetics – and, to be honest, it’s a useful and versatile ingredient.

    Unfortunately, the fact palm oil is used in such a wide variety of products means it is in high demand, and to meet demand, land that was previously rainforest is being demolished to make way for plantations instead.

    (Nearly) gone, but not forgotten

    The Iceland advert focuses on the impact this reallocation of land has on orangutans and correlates their dwindling numbers in the wild to the mass production of palm oil. Both species of orangutan – one native to Borneo, the other to Sumatra – are, in fact, endangered, with the Sumatran orangutans being critically endangered.

    Although this is by no means the only negative effect of the loss of our rainforests, the plight of the orangutans has hit home to viewers across the UK and inspired protest that seems to have only grown stronger after the ban.

    Despite no longer being shown on TV, the video has gone viral and more people are waking up to the realisation that, if we don’t want to lose these beautiful creatures for good, something must change.

    Negative impact

    As a budding vet, I can’t help but feel dejected when I hear about the human impact on the animal kingdom.

    But it’s not just orangutans – the rainforest is home to a plethora of animals; birds, reptiles and insects all reside there, as well as other mammals, such as sloths and jaguars – and I haven’t even mentioned the plant life. The rainforest houses countless species of flora and fauna that, if we’re not careful, we could lose for good.

    The trees of the forest alone are so vitally important for the ecosystem of our entire planet; with global warming on the rise each tree represents a solution to a much-addressed problem. Plus, if we lose these forests, we will be depriving ourselves, and generations to come, of one of the most beautiful places the world has to offer.

    Shades of grey

    It is important, however, to bear in mind the topic of palm oil is not entirely black and white. We know the devastating effects palm oil production is having on the environment, but we will have to find a suitable alternative if we wish to continue consuming the products we’ve grown accustomed to, and it is uncertain as to what this could be and whether it would be any less destructive.

    This might be why, although the EU has been suggesting a policy to ban palm oil since the start of the year, much debate exists over whether this will actually take place, let alone whether the UK will follow suit.

    The uncertainty is frustrating, and it can feel like the fight for conservation is a losing battle, but it’s important to remember  any step forward is a step in the right direction. Iceland being the first supermarket to ban palm oil from its own-brand products is one of those steps – and despite any setbacks we face, we just have to keep moving forward.

  • Win £100 Amazon vouchers with Moxiclear

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