A study examining the role of wildlife species as sentinels for rat lungworm suggests an expanded distribution of the parasite, and the need for pet owners and wildlife carers to take precautions in order to minimise transmission of the disease to animals in care. Rat lungworm, or Angiostrongylus cantonensis, was the most common cause of […]
Continue ReadingAn international research team has identified the gene associated with primary hypokalaemia in Burmese cats. Hypokalaemia, or subnormal serum potassium ion concentration, is typically a secondary disorder but may occur as a primary problem, most notably as hypokalaemic periodic paralysis in humans and horses, and feline hypokalaemic polymyopathy, also known as Burmese hypokalaemic periodic polymyopathy […]
Continue ReadingAlthough their behaviour may not equate with some of the clichéd lifestyle changes associated with human midlife crises, a paper published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests emotional highs and lows may also be an inherent characteristic in chimpanzees and orang-utans. An international team that included scientists, zookeepers, and […]
Continue ReadingThe war of words between Vets Against Live Export (VALE) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAAF) has intensified after the December broadcast of footage showing cattle being cruelly treated by an Israeli abattoir on the ABC’s 7.30 Report. An investigation by an Israeli journalist revealed that animals at the Bakar Tnuva abattoir […]
Continue ReadingThe recent bushfires in the eastern states have caused extensive stock deaths and taken a toll on endangered species. At the time of writing, the fires have burned more than 200,000ha of bush and agricultural land, devastating national parks and farms. Stock losses are believed to be around 21,000 throughout NSW, Tasmania, Victoria and central […]
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