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 issue by imagining the following […]
Continue ReadingThe 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 Royal Veterinary College in 1945. […]
Continue ReadingThe 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. A majority of the horses, […]
Continue ReadingToxoplasma 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 addition, T gondii may cause […]
Continue ReadingA new gorilla named Mjukuu was born at Taronga Zoo on Tuesday October 28. The baby boy was born to female Mbeli and male Kibali, and things are going well according to gorilla keeper Vera Nedved. “Kibali is starting to take his role of silverback more seriously,” she said. “He briefly checked his son after […]
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