OBJECTIVE: Particularly during household fires, inhalation of hot air and smoke, and the formation of carboxyhaemoglobin and cyanide lead to respiratory tract and lung injury in small animals. Additionally, oxygenation is impaired in most cases. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyse smoke exposure, physical examination findings and […]
Vet ethics: A quick whip around the racecourse
Melbourne’s Spring racing has again raised the question of the use of whips as performance aids in thoroughbreds. Jockey Zac Purton was fined $3000 over his “excessive” whipping of Caulfield Cup winner Admire Rakti. For the same ride, Purton collected $87,500 prize money. Let’s begin an ethical investigation of this […]
Wildlife pioneer Bill Hartley dies
The veterinary profession is mourning William Hartley, OAM, founder of the Australian Registry of Wildlife Health. Hartley died at his home in September at the age of 92. Famous for his modesty, he requested no funeral service. William (“Bill”) Hartley was born in England in 1922. He graduated from the […]
Abstracts: Pawing by standardbred racehorses: frequency and patterns
The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of pawing behavior in a population of Standardbred racehorses and the relationship of pawing frequency to time of day. Standardbreds (n=41) were observed using instantaneous scan sampling twice daily, in the morning before training and in the afternoon after training. […]
Abstracts: Animals are key to human toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasma gondii is an extremely successful protozoal parasite which infects almost all mammalian species including humans. Approximately 30 per cent of the human population worldwide is chronically infected with T gondii. In general, human infection is asymptomatic but the parasite may induce severe disease in fetuses and immunocompromised patients. In […]