A temporary control zone set up around a site in Norfolk last week amid fears of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), plus a second infection, has been lifted. A 10km temporary control zone, which also stretched over the county border into Suffolk, was declared around premises near Feltwell in West Norfolk on Thursday night (June 23) after … Read more
A 10km temporary control zone has been placed around a premises near Feltwell. Defra has declared a temporary control zone around premises in Norfolk as it tests for suspected foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in pigs. A 10km temporary control zone has been declared around a premises near Feltwell, in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk district, after … Read more
Restoring native predator populations such as the wolf or lynx in parts of the world could keep problematic invasive species in check, according to a new study. Invasive species have been one of the main causes of extinction of some vertebrates in the past 100 years, with an estimated cost of US $ 162 billion … Read more
The father of a Scottish vet who died by suicide is set to embark on a 1,200-mile walk from Land’s End to John o ‘Groats to raise money and awareness of the issue. John Gibson was devastated by the tragic loss of his 24-year-old son Cameron, a farm vet at Clyde Veterinary Group in Lanarkshire, … Read more
Before coming to university, I never really gave much thought to the life or journey of my food before it ended up on my plate; I was not well informed on the topics of air miles, methane production or abattoir welfare standards. If you had asked me if I wanted to make sure the foods … Read more
The exponential increase in saltwater crocodile populations in the Northern Territory in recent decades may be partly a result of them preying on feral pigs, new research suggests. Scientists who have analyzed the diets of saltwater crocodiles in the Territory believe the reptiles have shifted from marine prey to predominantly terrestrial food sources in the … Read more
Scientists at The Pirbright Institute have developed a model of pig respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) they hope will help colleagues researching COVID-19 and other diseases. Human coronaviruses including Middle East respiratory syndrome and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are zoonotic, so any research to aid understanding of the diseases could potentially benefit both human and animal … Read more
Indoor keeping of rabbits and guinea pigs is extremely common and, in the case of guinea pigs, it is rare to see animals genuinely kept outside. This is marked change from the situation just a couple of decades ago, when most animals were still kept outside. So, have these prey species been adapted sufficiently to … Read more
Scientists have discovered variants of the virus causing COVID-19 can potentially infect more animal species than the original strain. In a study led by The Pirbright Institute, SARS-CoV-2 variants alpha, beta and delta were found to infect more species, such as rodents and ferrets, compared to the ancestral virus strain, due to the mutations in … Read more
Veterinary professionals from across the UK are coordinating on efforts to supply war-torn Ukraine with essential vet medicines. Many in the profession with a shared desire to help following Russian invasion came together under the banner of British Veterinary Professionals for Ukraine (BVP4UA), and had been concentrating on supplying vital medical supplies and equipment. The … Read more