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The article presents several research papers for veterinary medicines as of the week ending March 4, 2006 in Great Britain. The World Trade Organization has provided information on the mast cell tumor on dogs. Veterinarian David Halloy and colleagues studied the effects of treating respiratory diseases caused by bacterial infections in pigs with antibiotic ceftiofur. Animal doctor Marcela Uhart and colleagues describe the health status of several adult, free-ranging rheas.

The article offers updates related to veterinary reports. It cites the discussion of Neil Hudson and associates regarding the admission processes to the veterinary degree courses at each of the seven veterinary schools in Great Britain. Meanwhile, it discusses research of Takeshi Tsuka and colleagues in using the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine the residual cleft cysts of Japanese black cows. Nick Sutton and colleagues identify cases of exposures of cats to neem oil.

The article presents several veterinary medicine-related studies in Great Britain in 2008 including an investigation on the usefulness of measuring cortisol precursors in the diagnosis of pituitary-independent hypercortisolism (PDH) in dogs; an examination on the effects of antibiotic dry-cow therapy with or without an internal teat sealant; and a research whether different techniques of processing barley can improve its pre-caecal digestibility.

The article reports developments related to veterinary medicine in Great Britain. The author presents the comparison of medetomidine and dexmedetomidine in dogs. They have discussed the efficacy of hand scrub methods in reducing bacterial counts. It is also discussed the use of an ovine growth hormone assay in acromegalic cats.

The article presents developments related to veterinary medicine. It was reported that anthrax has been well recognized in livestock and humans in Zimbabwe and outbreaks have been reported in the surrounding countries. According to another report, distension of the gallbladder can arise as a result of an obstruction or because of anorexia. Another report cites that Mycoplasma bovis is not a common cause of mastitis in herds in Great Britain.

The article presents several researches related to veterinary medicine. A four-point photographic scale was used to assess footpad dermatitis in broiler chickens at two processing plants in Great Britain. An investigation on the purported bias system in France that may lead to inaccurate estimates of the prevalence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy in sheep and goats in European countries has been done. A research on the lesion found in the oral mucosa of sheep is also conducted.

The article reports developments related to veterinary medicine in Great Britain. An examination on dermatological conditions in cats and dogs were the topic of the research conducted by Peter Hill and colleagues. Darren Shaw and Emma Keeble determined the prevalence of Encephalitozoon cuniculi in healthy pet rabbits. An assessment on the effects of therapy program in dog behavioral problems was conducted by Emily Blackwell and colleagues.

Lameness is a significant health and welfare issue in farmed animals. This paper uses a governmentality approach, which focuses on how a problem is made governable, to examine an emerging 'ecology of devices' introduced to intervene in, and attempt to reduce, on-farm incidence of lameness. These devices are associated with advisers who work with farmers on-farm; they enact lameness as a governable entity, are tools to assess the existence of lameness against established norms, and prescribe actions to be taken in response to evidence of lameness. In doing this they subjectify farmers and advisers into seeing and responding to lameness in particular ways. Using concepts of governmentality alongside other perspectives on the power relations and the simplifications and complexities involved in interventions in animal health and farm practice, the paper draws on in-depth research with advisers including vets and other paraprofessionals who work with farmers, and their cows and sheep. It explores how this set of devices introduces particular techniques and practices in lameness management, and produces farmer and adviser subjectivities. It then explores some of the problematics of this mode of governing lameness, including analysis of the limitations and unintended consequences of attempts to simplify lameness management. The paper concludes by arguing that its approach is valuable in analysing ongoing intensification of interventions in farming practices and in understanding the limits of such interventions and the unanticipated divergences from expected conduct. • A governmentality approach to livestock lameness provides valuable insight into recent attempts to reduce its prevalence and severity on farms. • The government of lameness produces farmer and adviser subjectivities linked to new tools and devices aiming to reduce the incidence of lameness. • The government of lameness is limited by complexities linked with attempts to simplify interventions and deviation from expected practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the 24th annual British Mastitis conference held at the Sixways Stadium in Worcester, England on October 17, 2012. Andrew Biggs of Vale Veterinary Group discussed the mixed results of the "National Mastitis Survey 2012." Information on the national udder health programme in Ireland is provided. A discussion on antibiotic resistance and its impact on animal and human health was given by Ortec Consultancy's Declan O'Rourke.

In the animal health arena, government‐mandated testing, herd movement restrictions, and culling of reactor (infected) animals are common practices in the midst of an infectious disease outbreak. These policies create a significant economic trade‐off—on one hand, such control efforts represent a public good by reducing the negative externality of private actions associated with the transmission of infectious disease; on the other hand, they impose substantial economic costs on the affected farms. This paper empirically evaluates the economic trade‐offs created by disease control efforts in the context of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in Great Britain. We find that—in this context—government control efforts are clearly cost‐effective. Mandatory testing, imposition of movement restrictions on infected herds, and culling of reactor animals generate an annual external value of approximately £152 million to the British beef sector with a social return‐on‐investment of 3.46. Moreover, coupled compensation averts approximately 75% of the farm exits that would otherwise have resulted from these policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Around 67 million pets are owned by households in the United Kingdom, and an increasing number of these are exotic animals. Approximately a third of pets are purchased through retail outlets or direct from breeders. A wide range of infections can be associated with companion animals. Objectives: This study uses a systematic literature review to describe the transmission of zoonotic disease in humans associated with a pet shop or other location selling pets (incidents of rabies tracebacks and zoonoses from pet food were excluded). Data sources: PubMed and EMBASE. Results: Fifty seven separate case reports or incidents were described in the 82 papers that were identified by the systematic review. Summary information on each incident is included in this manuscript. The infections include bacterial, viral and fungal diseases and range in severity from mild to life threatening. Infections associated with birds and rodents were the most commonly reported. Over half of the reports describe incidents in the Americas, and three of these were outbreaks involving more than 50 cases. Many of the incidents identified relate to infections in pet shop employees. Limitations: This review may have been subject to publication bias, where unusual and unexpected zoonotic infections may be over-represented in peer-reviewed publications. It was also restricted to English-language articles so that pathogens that are more common in non-Western countries, or in more exotic animals not common in Europe and the Americas, may have been under-represented. Conclusions/implications: A wide spectrum of zoonotic infections are acquired from pet shops. Salmonellosis and psittacosis were the most commonly documented diseases, however more unusual infections such as tularemia also appeared in the review. Given their potential to spread zoonotic infection, it is important that pet shops act to minimise the risk as far as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) is an important and controversial animal health policy issue in England, which impacts humans, cattle and badgers. The government policy of badger culling has led to widespread opposition, in part due to the conclusions of a large field trial recommending against culling, and in part because badgers are a cherished wildlife species. Animal rights (AR) theorists argue that sentient nonhumans should be accorded fundamental rights against killing and suffering. In bovine TB policy, however, pro-culling actors claim that badgers must be culled to avoid the slaughter of cattle. The first part of the paper compares AR theories of Regan, Francione, Cochrane, Garner and Donaldson and Kymlicka in the context of wildlife species. The second part of the paper applies these AR theories to bovine TB and badger control. AR theories are applied to badger control policy options of (1) do nothing, (2) badger culling, and (3) badger vaccination. We conclude that AR theories are strongly opposed to badger culling. In general, culling is prohibited due to a badger's right to life and its rights against suffering. The AR theories support a do-nothing, i.e. non-culling, non-vaccination approach to badger control. In the case of the AR theories of Regan and Francione, this is based on abolitionist positions with respect to farming. For Cochrane, Garner, and Donaldson and Kymlicka, the do-nothing policy option is preferred because badger vaccination causes a degree of suffering which generally is not for the individual's benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) is the most important animal health and welfare policy issue in Britain. Badgers are a wildlife reservoir of disease, although the eight-year Independent Scientific Group (ISG) Randomised Badger Culling Trial concluded with a recommendation against culling. The report advised government that bovine TB could be controlled, and ultimately eradicated, by cattle-based measures alone. Despite the ISG recommendation against culling, the farming and veterinary industries continued to lobby government for a badger cull. The 2005-2010 Labour government followed the ISG advice and decided against a cull. The 2010-2015 Coalition and the 2015-present Conservative governments have followed a badger culling policy. This paper investigates whether a virtuous government would cull badgers. It provides an overview of virtue theory in the context of government animal health and welfare policy. Bovine TB and badger control policy options are then analysed in the context of the virtues of justice, wisdom, integrity, loyalty, curiosity, trust, empathy, compassion and aesthetics. Justice is the first virtue of government, and badger culling is seriously problematic from a virtue perspective given that five badgers are culled per cow that avoids slaughter as a result. Analysis based on other virtues strongly suggests that government should not cull badgers. The paper concludes that a virtuous government would not cull badgers as part of policy to control bovine TB in cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diseases suffered by British livestock, and the ways in which they were perceived and managed by farmers, vets and the state, changed considerably over the course of the twentieth century. This paper documents and analyses these changes in relation to the development of public policy. It reveals that scientific knowledge and disease demographics cannot by themselves explain the shifting boundaries of state responsibility for animal health, the diseases targeted and the preferred modes of intervention. Policies were shaped also by concerns over food security and the public's health, the state of the national and livestock economy, the interests and expertise of the veterinary profession, and prevailing agricultural policy. This paper demonstrates how, by precipitating changes to farming and trading practices, public policy could sometimes actually undermine farm animal health. Animal disease can therefore be viewed both as a stimulus to, and a consequence of, twentieth century public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the management and health problems of donkeys on loan to independent carers from The Donkey Sanctuary are characterised, and the demographics of the UK's donkey population are described using data from a variety of sources. All carers that fostered a donkey from The Donkey Sanctuary between September 2004 and August 2005 (1432 donkeys) were surveyed using a postal questionnaire requesting information about the donkey, its premises, daily care, health and preventive medicine. The response rate was 77.8 per cent. The mean (sd) age of the donkeys was 20.8 (7.4) years. The majority (92 per cent) of the donkeys were kept as pets. Approximately one-third (33.6 per cent) of the donkeys were overweight. The most common medical problems were hoof, dermal and oral problems. A total of 86 per cent of the donkeys had a dental examination at least every 12 months, and at least 45 per cent had at least one dental problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known, historically, about the perceived and actual importance of disease prevention within general medical and veterinary practice, its constituent attitudes, practices and politics, and its relationship to disease cure. This paper addresses these issues through a study of veterinary preventive medicine. It focuses on the post-war attempts by leading British vets to reorient veterinary practice around a more preventive approach to livestock disease. I examine vets' motivations, their definition of preventive medicine, perceptions of its benefits and preferred delivery mechanisms. I also analyse official and farming attitudes to veterinary preventive medicine, and the extent to which it was put into practice. In so doing, I map out the largely unchartered history of the British post-war veterinary profession, and reveal the circumstances under which vets, farmers and the state were prepared to act on the longstanding belief that ‘prevention is better than cure.’ [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Early-warning surveillance provides an essential component of the evidence required to protect animal health. Assessing the proportion of the population included in surveillance systems (coverage) provides a measure of the effectiveness of early-warning surveillance, and contributes to ensuring that these systems are efficient. This paper describes an investigation of methods used for assessing the coverage and representativeness of the 'FarmFile' early-warning surveillance system. This system uses information collected with samples submitted to diagnostic laboratories by private veterinary practitioners in England and Wales. Available data on pig holdings and veterinary practices in four English counties, selected to represent a range of diverse population characteristics, were supplemented using surveys of veterinary practices. Coverage assessments were based on submissions made to FarmFile in 2009. The proportion of holdings covered varied from 5-62 per cent in Devon and Cumbria, and 16-97 per cent in Norfolk and East Riding of Yorkshire. The results suggest that while the proportion of individual pigs covered by the current early-warning surveillance system is high, small and breeding-only holdings in some regions may be poorly covered. Coverage assessments vary depending on the methods used for their assessment, and multiple assessment methods can provide a 'range' within which coverage lies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pig health schemes based on abattoir inspections provide an integrated system to optimise the postmortem detection and the reporting of pathological lesions. In Great Britain, two initiatives have been implemented by the pig industry: Wholesome Pigs Scotland (WPS) and the BPEX Pig Health Scheme (BPHS). These schemes record the presence of a range of pathological lesions detected by means of detailed inspection of the pluck and the skin of the slaughtered pigs. The lesions are those associated with a reduction in performance traits or are indicators of animal welfare problems. This paper aims to provide an overview of the objectives behind the BPHS and their activities, outlining similarities and differences between WPS and BPHS on five main operational topics: the lesions monitored, the administration of the schemes, flow of the information, inspection strategies and the major idiosyncratic characteristics of the schemes. These initiatives inform individual producers and their veterinarians of the occurrence of pathological conditions affecting their pig herds. Additionally, they offer the added value of providing nationwide disease monitoring information and have the potential to be a useful surveillance tool for emerging and enzootic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the contribution of script theory to understandings of animal health risks. Script theory has long played an important role in studies of health and risk, yet the application of script theories is often vague and confused. Theories from different ontological perspectives are conflated resulting in an overly cognitive and asocial understanding of health behaviour with the potential to misinform health promotion strategies. The paper addresses these problems by applying the concept of script formulations to an analysis of farmers' understandings of bovine tuberculosis in farmed cattle. Drawing on interviews with 61 farmers in England and Wales, the paper argues that farmers reveal animal disease to be a scripted event, but that these scripts also order identity and provide a form of moral accountability for farmers' behaviour. This has implications for attempts to communicate animal disease risks and suggests that a more productive approach is to reorganise governance structures and relationships between farmers and government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bovine tuberculosis ( bTB) remains a significant animal health problem with a global distribution. In addition to the ecological complexities, socio-economic and socio-cultural factors also affect efforts to control and eliminate the disease. Interrogating bTB from the author's positionality of being both a veterinary epidemiologist and a human geographer, this interdisciplinary engagement in the political ecology of health investigates the experiences and opinions of the actors involved in disease control. The findings of this research in one part of the United Kingdom - Northern Ireland - demonstrate gaps between expert scientific discourse and circulating on-the-ground perceptions and lay knowledges of the disease. bTB is therefore known and framed in multiple, often antithetical, ways by those who meet and experience the disease on farms. The paper concludes that farmers, vets and state policy-makers must accept the heterogeneity of the disease; make it visible again; and create new imaginaries for a future where bTB is no longer an everyday ubiquity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The British people voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union and the United Kingdom (UK) is set to leave the EU in 2019. Brexit is a major political change and it presents both threats and opportunities for animal protection. This paper assesses the threats that Brexit poses to animal protection in terms of five criteria. These are first, the political situation; second, regulatory changes; third, economic and trade factors; fourth, institutional considerations; and fifth, EU and international impacts. The EU has the most progressive animal welfare laws in the world. The UK Conservative Government, which is delivering Brexit, has a mixed record on animal protection. Brexit is forecast to have a negative impact on the UK economy, which is likely to negatively affect animal welfare. A major threat of Brexit is the import of meat and dairy products to the UK raised in lower welfare standards from nations such as the United States (US). The development of Brexit policy suggests there is a significant risk that this threat will materialise. Furthermore, Brexit will result in a reduced political lobby within the EU for progressive animal protection reform. Despite the UK being a progressive animal protection nation, she will have less power to exert this influence to improve animal welfare outside of the EU. Brexit poses substantial risks to weaken animal protection in the UK, EU and internationally. Further research is needed to assess the opportunities presented by Brexit to judge whether Brexit will be overall positive or negative for animal protection. The British people voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union (EU). Brexit presents both threats and opportunities to animal protection in the United Kingdom (UK), EU and internationally. This paper discusses threats to animal protection in terms of five criteria. These are first, political context; second, regulatory changes; third, economic and trade factors; fourth, institutional and capacity-related factors; and fifth, EU and international considerations. The EU has the most progressive animal welfare laws in the world. The Conservative Government delivering Brexit has a mixed record on animal protection. Major time and resource constraints inherent in Brexit risk negatively impacting animal protection. Brexit is projected to have a negative economic impact, which is generally associated with lower animal welfare standards. The development of Brexit policy suggests there to be a substantial risk that the major threat of importing lower welfare products to the UK will materialise. Brexit will reduce the political influence of the progressive animal protection lobby in the EU. Post-Brexit, the politically and economically weakened EU and UK risks a detrimental impact on animal protection on an international scale. Brexit poses substantial threats to animal protection, with a high risk that many threats will materialise. Further research is needed to assess the opportunities presented by Brexit to judge whether Brexit will be overall positive or negative for animal protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite links to animal disease governance, food and biosecurity, rural studies has neglected consideration of how actors make sense of the use of antibiotics in animal agriculture and the implications for animal and human health. As antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a high-profile problem, the contribution of animal antibiotics is frequently mentioned in scientific and policy documents but how different agricultural actors interpret its significance is less clear. This paper offers the first social scientific investigation of contestation and consensus surrounding the use of antibiotics in agriculture and their implications for AMR as mediated through mainstream news-media and farming print media in the UK. Frame analysis of four national newspapers and one farming paper reveals three distinct frames. A ‘system failure’ frame is the most frequently occurring and positions intensive livestock production systems as a key contributor to AMR-related crises in human health. A ‘maintaining the status quo’ frame argues that there is no evidence linking antibiotics in farming to AMR in humans and stresses the necessity of (some) antibiotic use for animal health. A third frame – which is only present in the farming media – highlights a need for voluntary, industry-led action on animal antibiotic use in terms of farmer self-interest. Common to all frames is that the relationship between agricultural use of antibiotics and problems posed by AMR is mostly discussed in terms of the implications for human health as opposed to both human and animal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surveillance of animal diseases provides information essential for the protection of animal health and ultimately public health. The voluntary pig health schemes, implemented in the United Kingdom, are integrated systems which capture information on different macroscopic disease conditions detected in slaughtered pigs. Many of these conditions have been associated with a reduction in performance traits and consequent increases in production costs. The schemes are the Wholesome Pigs Scotland in Scotland, the BPEX Pig Health Scheme in England and Wales and the Pig Regen Ltd. health and welfare checks done in Northern Ireland. This report set out to compare the prevalence of four respiratory conditions (enzootic pneumonia-like lesions, pleurisy, pleuropneumonia lesions and abscesses in the lung) assessed by these three Pig Health Schemes. The seasonal variations and year trends associated with the conditions in each scheme are presented. The paper also highlights the differences in prevalence for each condition across these schemes and areas where further research is needed. A general increase in the prevalence of enzootic pneumonia like lesions was observed in Scotland, England and Wales since 2009, while a general decrease was observed in Northern Ireland over the years of the scheme. Pleurisy prevalence has increased since 2010 in all three schemes, whilst pleuropneumonia has been decreasing. Prevalence of abscesses in the lung has decreased in England, Wales and Northern Ireland but has increased in Scotland. This analysis highlights the value of surveillance schemes based on abattoir pathology monitoring of four respiratory lesions. The outputs at scheme level have significant value as indicators of endemic and emerging disease, and for producers and herd veterinarians in planning and evaluating herd health control programs when comparing individual farm results with national averages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper explores the validity of performance management regimes for quality assuring animal health regulation by comparing the results of tests for bovine tuberculosis (bTB) between male and female vets. In doing so it hopes to present some practical solutions to the regulation of animal disease and encourage further sociological study of the veterinary profession. Concerns about the quality of animal health regulation by vets have prompted thinking about the role of quality control mechanisms such as performance management systems and performance indicators. To investigate their suitability, bTB testing data from areas with high incidence of bTB in Great Britain were extracted from the Vetnet database. Using the data, a performance indicator ‘reactors per 1000 cattle tested’ was calculated and compared with veterinarians'' gender. Results showed statistically significant differences between gender and vets'' reactor detection: male vets were more likely to detect animal disease than female vets. The paper considers how the concepts of ‘emotional labour’ and ‘relational distance’ may explain vets'' behaviour. The presence of these systematic biases raises questions over the use of performance indicators as means of quality control, and highlights the need for further social scientific analysis of the veterinary profession. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

There is strong evidence to suggest that climate change has, and will continue to affect the occurrence, distribution and prevalence of livestock diseases in Great Britain (GB). This paper reviews how climate change could affect livestock diseases in GB. Factors influenced by climate change and that could affect livestock diseases include the molecular biology of the pathogen itself; vectors (if any); farming practice and land use; zoological and environmental factors; and the establishment of new microenvironments and microclimates. The interaction of these factors is an important consideration in forecasting how livestock diseases may be affected. Risk assessments should focus on looking for combinations of factors that may be directly affected by climate change, or that may be indirectly affected through changes in human activity, such as land use (e.g. deforestation), transport and movement of animals, intensity of livestock farming and habitat change. A risk assessment framework is proposed, based on modules that accommodate these factors. This framework could be used to screen for the emergence of unexpected disease events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woodward, K. N. Veterinary pharmacovigilance. Part 2. Veterinary pharmacovigilance in practice– the operation of a spontaneous reporting scheme in a European Union country– the UK, and schemes in other countries.J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap.28, 149–170.Veterinary pharmacovigilance, as it operates in the European Union (EU), covers a very broad remit, including adverse effects in treated animals, exposed humans and the environment, and in addition, it extends to cover the violation of maximum residue limits. The mainstay of veterinary pharmacovigilance is the spontaneous reporting scheme working along side other systems such as those reporting on residues surveillance. One of the most well established schemes in the EU is that operating in the UK and this paper examines the evolution of that scheme and some of its findings, data from other countries, and information available from the literature. It also tentatively examines the ways that pharmacovigilance can be used for regulatory purposes, and the contribution from pharmacoepidemiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the beginning of the twentieth century, municipal authorities in England and Wales, and in Scotland, began to develop systems of veterinary public health which encompassed both the welfare of animals and the safety of meat and milk intended for human consumption. This paper examines the motives behind veterinary attempts to extend the integration of human and animal health considerations within the public health framework in the inter-war period. In 1938 the Ministry of Agriculture implemented a national administrative structure for the management of animal diseases which absorbed the veterinary personnel of the municipal authorities, whose own veterinary public health activities largely fell into abeyance. As a result, the ideal of veterinary public health disappeared from British public health practice after 1939, and lost its force as a professional political cause. The mid-century disappearance of animal health from consideration in British public health programmes was one of a complex of historical strands which contributed to the late-twentieth-century emergence of public health crises over such animal-borne diseases as salmonellosis, Escherichia coli infection, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the call by the Veterinary Medicine Directorate (VMD) for views of industry groups about the practice of mixing anthelmintic drenches for sheep before administration in Great Britain. According to reports, VMD seeks view for further consensus on the discussion about whether labels and package leaflets for anthelmintic drenches fro sheep should include a warning against mixing the drench with another product before it is being administered.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of today's greatest public health threats and reducing antimicrobial use in livestock is essential to prevent its spread, requiring rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) to ensure that the drug prescribed matches the sensitivity of the disease organism. However, despite decades of research on RDTs and a relatively permissive regulatory environment in the UK, few devices are in commercial use. Challenges discussed by RDT developers included identifying commercially-viable targets, and management of the innovation ecosystem, e.g. to create clear pathways to market supporting positive interactions between farmers, vets, and other actors along the value chain. Future support for RDT development could be provided through incorporation in: assured food systems; business service packages provided by centralised laboratories; or animal health monitoring packages related to the spread of AMR. Breeding stock sales could require an accompanying health package including RDTs, vaccines and/or antibiotics, linking to precision agriculture approaches. Unlike the example of RDT development for COVID-19, it seems that the urgency of the issue and the clarity of links between animal and human health outcomes are not yet sufficient to support a fast-tracking programme for the development of RDTs to combat AMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The desire to govern antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in animal agriculture has gained renewed prominence in the UK and international policy and practice in response to growing concern about the impact of AMR infections on human and animal health. This article adopts a more‐than‐human approach inspired by assemblage and biopolitical thinking to explore how diverse actors work to assemble a regime of governance in animal agriculture through their efforts to tackle AMR. How agricultural animals are represented and positioned in this process, and the consequences of these efforts for broader agricultural animal–human relation in UK animal agriculture is also a concern. Qualitative, empirical material is produced from documents published by government, industry organisations, NGOs and retailers. We highlight the negotiated contingencies of actions on AMR in UK animal agriculture and reflect on the limited extent to which they constitute a new front in the regulation of agricultural animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal health surveillance in Great Britain (GB) is conducted through public and private initiatives, yet there is no consolidated information on these activities and their outcomes. We developed an inventory of livestock health surveillance programmes in GB to identify gaps in resource use and potential synergies that could be exploited. The inventory contained details of 36 livestock surveillance activities active in 2011. Data were collected by questionnaire and interviews. Livestock health surveillance funding was found to be unevenly distributed between species: the vast majority (approximately 94 per cent) was spent on cattle diseases (tuberculosis surveillance accounted for most of this expenditure), with 2 per cent on pigs, 2 per cent on sheep/goats, 1 per cent on poultry, and 1 per cent on antimicrobial resistance surveillance across all species. Consequently, surveillance efforts in GB appears heavily skewed towards regions with high cattle densities, particularly highprevalence tuberculosis areas such as the southwest. The contribution of private schemes to surveillance funding was hard to quantify due to limited access to data, but was estimated to be about 10 per cent. There is scope to better understand the benefits of surveillance, enhance data sharing, clarify costs and identify who pays and who gains. Health surveillance should be considered within the sharing of responsibilities for disease control. Context Animal health surveillance in Great Britain is conducted through public and private initiatives, yet there is no consolidated information on these activities and their outcomes. We developed an inventory of livestock health surveillance programmes in Great Britain to identify gaps in resource use and potential synergies that could be exploited. Main conclusion Surveillance funding in Great Britain is heavily focused on cattle, with the vast majority of this being spent on bovine tuberculosis (TB). Economic information on private and public sector surveillance activities in Great Britain is currently very limited and data are often not available. As a consequence, economic assessments of disease mitigation - including cost-benefit analyses - are biased and incomplete. Approach An inventory of all known livestock surveillance activities in Great Britain that were active in 2011 was developed. Data on 51 characteristics (for example, surveillance purpose, target population, funding source) of each surveillance component were collected using detailed questionnaires accompanied by guidance notes which were sent to surveillance programme managers or filled in using publicly available information from the internet. The information collected was used to perform a visual mapping exercise to identify overlaps and potential synergies between schemes. The overlaps and synergies that were identified enabled suggestions to be made on possible redundancies and where some additional collaboration could add value. The current distribution of financial resources between programmes was considered as part of this objective. A total of 36 surveillance components covering 21 diseases in four livestock sectors (cattle, sheep and goats, pigs and poultry) were identified for the inventory and included in the subsequent economic analysis. Of these 36 surveillance components, 28 were programmes operated by the AHVLA/Defra and eight were industry-led schemes. Results Spending on disease surveillance was found to be very unevenly distributed across species (Table 1). The vast majority (94 per cent) of livestock surveillance expenditure in Great Britain in 2011 was spent on cattle (mainly bovine TB), 2 per cent was spent on pigs, 2 per cent on sheep and goats, and 1 per cent on poultry. The remaining 1 per cent was spent on surveillance for antimicrobial resistance across all species. Interpretation The results of this work suggest that surveillance funding in Great Britain is mainly focused on cattle, with the vast majority of this being spent on bovine TB. This surveillance is part of the UK national control programme required by legislation, of which infection control is an integral part and a large cost. As a result, surveillance in Great Britain is heavily skewed towards regions of the country with high cattle densities, namely the south-west. Other diseases, other species and other regions of the country would appear relatively underfunded in comparison. The estimate of private sector expenditure made a small contribution to total estimated surveillance spend (approximately 10 per cent across all species, although the exact figure is likely to be a little higher because not all private funding was disclosed). This finding may partly be due to gaps in the data we were able to obtain, particularly from the poultry sector and from the herd health schemes for all species. As a result, this source of surveillance information is not publicly available and the benefits of such schemes are limited to the industry. This represents a potentially significant lost opportunity because of the similar nature of several of these schemes conducting surveillance on the same diseases. Significance of findings There is plenty of scope to better understand the benefits of surveillance, enhance data sharing, clarify costs and identify who pays and who gains. Animal health surveillance should be considered within the sharing of responsibilities for infectious disease control. Decisions taken with regard to disease mitigation will continue to be constrained until economic information is systematically collected and analysed. In times of increasingly limited resources, this gap should be addressed urgently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to identify both the level and source of knowledge that dog owners in the UK have of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. In order to acquire such information a questionnaire was designed and distributed using two main methods over a period of five months. Questionnaires were distributed via three pet-related online forums and by hand at two locations within five predefined areas in England. In total, 459 responses were received. Of these, 21.4 per cent were unable to name a single type of banned dog and 81.9 per cent of respondents agreed that information on dog legislation was not publicised enough. The knowledge of banned breeds among the dog owners surveyed was low and respondents expressed a desire to see the law relating to dangerous dogs in the UK either changed or improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Veterinary schools in the UK are required by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to ensure that their students have attained essential 'Day one' skills (DOS) by graduation. To aid students' understanding of how they could satisfy this requirement, the Royal Veterinary College produced a DOS guide, which was distributed in the 2007 to 2008 academic year to students in the third and fourth years of the professional veterinary course. The same students were surveyed towards the end of the 2008 to 2009 session about the guide, when they were in the fourth and final years, to rate its usefulness and to indicate their perceived levels of competence, both currently and expected at graduation. Focus group discussions were subsequently conducted to explore the findings of the survey. Responses from 88 fourth-year (39 per cent) and 174 (87 per cent) final-year students revealed that while almost all respondents were aware of the DOS guide, their use of it was low. Final-year students rated themselves as being more competent than fourth-year students, but were less optimistic about their expected level of competence regarding several invasive procedures, which some students considered to be 'unattainable' by graduation, despite the apparent value of extramural studies and intramural rotations in providing opportunities for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several systems are being used in England to record information about the health of pigs. The British Pig Health Scheme (BPHS), the National Animal Disease Information System (NADIS), the Zoonoses Action Plan (ZAP) for Salmonella and the Veterinary Investigation Diagnosis Analysis (VIDA) system have been assessed to make recommendations for their future separate or joint development. The structure, organisation, processes, data quality, dissemination, utilisation and acceptance of each system have been assessed. Information was extracted from documents and websites, and informal interviews were conducted with technical experts and stakeholders. The systems covered a broad range of objectives, used variable approaches and operated at very different scales and budgets. There was a high level of awareness and involvement by the industry. Common weaknesses of the systems were the lack of in-depth quantitative analysis of the data, the lack of assessment of each system's impact, and the unknown level of bias as a result of the voluntary or selective participation in them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details the British Veterinary Association Veterinary Policy Group's policy paper for dealing with bovine tuberculosis. Concern on the increasing number of affected herds; Need for imposing the proposals for banning the movement of cattle from high- to low-risk areas.

A questionnaire to examine the attitudes and perceptions of cattle practitioners to pain in cattle was sent to 2398 practitioners working in the UK, and 641 responses were received. From the range of procedures and conditions outlined in the questionnaire, claw amputation was scored as the most painful procedure undergone by adult cattle (assuming no analgesic drugs were administered), and neck calluses were scored as the least painful condition experienced by adult cattle. The pain associated with dystocia was considered the least painful experience for calves, and fracture of a distal limb and surgery for an umbilical hernia equally the most painful. There were significant differences between the pain scores assigned by men and women and by respondents who had graduated in different decades; female respondents and more recent graduates tended to give a higher pain score for most conditions. There were also significant differences between the pain scores assigned by respondents who routinely used analgesics and those who did not, the latter being more likely to assign significantly lower pain scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Veterinary medicines are used widely in the United Kingdom (UK) to protect animal health, prevent economic loss, and to help ensure a safe food supply. Veterinary medicine active ingredients (AIs) have been detected in various environmental media, including surface and groundwater, suggesting the potential for indirect human exposure from such residues. To fully assess the potential level of such exposures and the resultant potential risks to humans from all veterinary medicine AIs would be resource intensive. This paper proposes a method for prioritising veterinary medicine AIs according to estimates of their potential for indirect human exposure via the environment and their toxicity profile, and demonstrates its feasibility using an initial set of 83 veterinary medicine AIs approved for use in the UK. Overall, 13 AIs were classified as ‘High’ priority for detailed risk assessment, 19 as ‘Medium’ priority, 5 as ‘Low’ priority, and 46 as ‘Very low’ priority. The veterinary medicine AIs classified as ‘High’ or ‘Medium’ priority for detailed risk assessment included 15 different chemical groups and 10 different therapeutic indications. Overall, the proposed prioritisation scheme was demonstrated to provide a scientifically robust and pragmatic means of assessing the relative priority of veterinary medicine AIs for further detailed risk assessment regarding human exposure. However, there remain a number of data gaps that, if filled, would improve the accuracy of the resultant prioritisation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To investigate the incidence and types of mistakes made in veterinary practice, and to assess the impact the mistakes had on the veterinarians involved, a questionnaire was sent in November 2002 to all the veterinary graduates of the Universities of Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Liverpool in 2001. One hundred and eight (27 per cent) of 402 questionnaires were returned completed; 87 of 106 respondents (82 per cent) worked frequently or always unsupervised and only 46(43 per cent) could always rely on support from other veterinarians in the practice. Since starting work, 82 of 105 respondents (78 per cent) stated that they had made a mistake, defined as an erroneous act or omission resulting in a less than optimal or potentially adverse outcome for a patient, and in many cases these mistakes had had a considerable emotional impact on the veterinarians involved. The survey highlights that a large number of recently graduated veterinarians work with little supervision and that many veterinarians beginning their year in practice do not always have access to assistance from other veterinary colleagues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore the expert controversy over the management of a major rural risk issue, the foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak that affected the United Kingdom in 2001, and in particular the role of predictive epidemiological modeling in the decision making process. We pose the questions of why this technique was identified as the right tool for the job by government and why, at the same time, its use was so fiercely contested by other experts in animal health. To set our analysis in context we outline briefly the causes, characteristics, and consequences of FMD together with its history in the United Kingdom. We then provide an account of the 2001 FMD outbreak and the policies that were employed to control the epidemic. In the main discussion we integrate the geographical concept of spatial practices with the concept, drawn from the sociology of scientific knowledge, of styles of scientific practice and apply this to the analysis of the knowledge practices and arguments of the scientific groups that advised on controlling the epidemic. We analyse the key differences between expert groups and their policy recommendations in terms of their different styles of scientific spatial practice. In the rhetorical boundary work of the opposing scientific groups we see these differences in 'style' being invoked to delineate the boundaries of 'sound science' and thereby legitimate their respective policy prescriptions. We conclude by discussing the relationship between styles of scientific spatial practice and recent trends in government policy style and its implications for future risk policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the British Veterinary Association's identification of veterinary undergraduate education as an important area of policy development. Association's claim that the teaching of therapeutics is one of the areas of the veterinary curriculum that needs improvement; Areas that should be added to the existing curriculum according to practitioners.

The importance given to minimising health issues and promoting natural behaviours is a polarising issue within farm animal welfare. It is predominantly thought that members of the public prioritise animals being able to behave naturally over other aspects of farm animal welfare, such as addressing health issues. However, public perspectives may be more multi-dimensional than is generally thought, with the importance given to these different elements of welfare dependent on the situation and state of the animals in question. To examine this, a factorial survey using vignettes, which experimentally manipulated the different levels of health (high health vs. low health) and natural behaviour provision (high behaviour vs. low behaviour), was completed by a sample (n = 810) representative of the UK population (on age, gender, ethnicity). Contrary to the predominant view, this study found animal health had the greatest effect on participants' judgements, explaining more of the variance in their assessments of animal welfare than any other factor. However, findings also indicated that participants considered animal welfare to be most positive when both health issues are minimised and natural behaviours are promoted. Attitudes to natural behaviours also varied more between participants, with females, individuals who do not (regularly) eat meat and those with a greater belief in animal mind giving greater priority to natural behaviours. In the context of public and private welfare standards seeking to meet public expectations, this study provides important insights into how public perspectives of animal welfare are more nuanced than previously thought, influenced by the context of the animal, the aspect of welfare in question and personal characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: An Italian ryegrass cultivar (Lolium multiflorum Lam. cv. Bb2067), selected and bred for increased leaf magnesium (Mg) concentration in the 1970s, reduced the incidence of hypomagnesaemia in sheep under experimental grazings. Here, we report evidence from archival experiments showing that cv. Bb2067 had consistently greater Mg concentrations at multiple sites. We also aimed to quantify variation in leaf Mg concentration among modern perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), hybrid ryegrass (Lolium perenne × multiflorum), and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Shreb.) cultivars. Methods: Data are reported from unpublished 1980s field-plot experiments for cv. Bb2067 and contemporaneous reference cultivars, sown at two UK locations in 1983 and 1984, and from 397 cultivars of modern forage grass in 13 UK-based breeding experiments sampled in spring 2013. Results: Across sites, years and cuts, cv. Bb2067 had a consistently greater leaf Mg concentration and lower potassium (K) concentration and forage tetany index (FTI) than reference cultivars in the 1980s experiments. Seasonal variation in leaf Mg and K concentrations and FTI were observed in the 1980s experiments, with K concentrations being generally greatest and Mg concentrations smallest in spring. Among modern forage grasses, there was large variation in leaf Mg concentration (up to 6.3-fold) and FTI (up to 2.1-fold), both within and between species, which varied independently of yield. Among a subset of hybrid ryegrass cultivars, there is evidence that the high Mg trait is already present in some modern breeding lines, albeit previously unreported. Conclusions: The variation in leaf Mg concentration and FTI among old and new cultivars shows there is considerable potential to breed forages with improved mineral quality to improve livestock health, potentially without compromising yield or other nutritional traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article cites a study which revealed that the prevalence of sheep infected with classical scrapie has declined by 40% in Great Britain between 2003 and 2007. The study, conducted by researchers at the Institute for Animal Health (IAH), showed that the prevalence of the disease in the country remained fairly constant until 2003. Simon Gubbins of IAH's Mathematical Biology Group claims that the decline was driven by various scrapie control schemes, including Ram Genotyping Scheme in 2001.

The article reports on British Veterinary Association (BVA) board chairman Brian Hoskin's introduction of a consultation paper which sought the views of divisions on various areas of BVA structure and management. Council members have indicated satisfaction with the way the BVA was performing under the changed structure.

Palliative care is routinely offered to humans in the United Kingdom, while euthanasia remains illegal. The converse is true for nonhuman animals (henceforth animals). Indeed, euthanasia is widely accepted as the appropriate course of action for "suffering" animals, and for those whose behaviors or suspected ill health are thought to pose a threat to others. This article details examples of nonhuman death at a multi-faith ashram whose members vehemently oppose all forms of killing on religious grounds. Through exploring their efforts in palliative care for animals, and their emphasis on natural death as a means of respecting the sanctity of life, the practical, emotional, and theoretical viability of caring for, instead of killing, other animals at the ends of their lives is considered. In the process, normative distinctions between different categories of animals, (including humans), and different approaches to end of life care (palliative care, euthanasia, natural death) are called into question. Indeed, paying mindful attention to the diverse ways in which individual animals are cared for as they die reveals the potential violence inherent in both palliative care leading to natural death, and euthanasia, blurring perceptions of good and bad death in both veterinary and human medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports that the development of proactive policy on the control of bovine tuberculosis (BT) had been identified as a priority for the British Veterinary Association (BVA). Association's discussion of what issues should be highlighted in the policy; Other veterinary associations collaborating with the BVA with regards to controlling BT.