Breeding for polled animals is deemed the most practical solution to eradicate horns naturally and circumvent management costs and risks on health and welfare. However, there has been a historical reluctance by some farmers to select polled animals due to perceived lower productivity of their calves.
Will immigration solve veterinarian shortages?
Veterinarians are included in a list of prioritised skilled migrants by the Department of Home Affairs, which will grant urgent processing to the profession. The Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL) recognises 19 critical occupations needed to assist Australia’s economic recovery amid the global pandemic, with vets joined by others […]
Vale: William Blackhall (1934–2021)
Bill Blackhall, an icon of the Australian Animal Health Industry, passed away peacefully on February 28 2021, aged 87. Known and respected by thousands in Australia and New Zealand, and, indeed across the world, Bill’s enduring legacy is indelibly stamped on this close-knit animal health community.
Watershed moment for animal rights in law
Vertebrate animals are to be recognised as sentient beings for the first time in UK law after the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill was introduced in May. With sentience part of domestic law, new legislation must acknowledge that animals can experience feelings such as joy or pain.
Abstracts: Dog cognitive development – a longitudinal study
While our understanding of adult dog cognition has grown considerably over the past 20 years, relatively little is known about the ontogeny of dog cognition. To assess the development and longitudinal stability of cognitive traits in dogs, we administered a battery of tasks to 160 candidate assistance dogs at 2 […]