This review provides a scientific comment on the welfare of ruminants slaughtered by ventral-neck incision without stunning. Evidence is derived from studies of calves, sheep and goats. Reference is also made to findings in other mammals including humans. Pain is an inherently subjective experience and only indirect indices are available in animals. Neurophysiological […]
Clinical Zoo: Helping out a gecko with no name
There’s something exciting about exploratory abdominal surgery. Whether you’re in small animal, large animal or exotics practice, you can’t always predict whether the procedure will be routine or whether you will “peek and shriek”, to borrow an increasingly popular phrase being bandied around at veterinary conferences and surgery workshops. That […]
Reduced cortisol and metabolic responses of thin ewes to an acute cold challenge in mid-pregnancy: implications for animal physiology and welfare
BACKGROUND Low food availability leading to reductions in Body Condition Score (BCS; 0 indicates emaciation and 5 obesity) in sheep often coincides with low temperatures associated with the onset of winter in New Zealand. The ability to adapt to reductions in environmental temperature may be impaired in animals with low […]
Veterinary radiologist receives highest academic honour
Veterinary specialist radiologist Graeme Allan will be awarded a Doctor in Veterinary Science (DVSc) this year in recognition of his prolific contribution to the field of veterinary diagnostic imaging. The DVSc is a rare honour, awarded to outstanding researchers whose body of work is deemed to have made a consistent […]