Pigeon Post: Ian Neville writes from the UK

February saw the status of veterinary nurses in the UK enhanced by a Royal Charter conferring professional recognition and requiring accountable regulation. From now on Registered Veterinary Nurses (RVNs) will be subject to rules similar to those governing their veterinary surgeon colleagues. The RVN’s will be overseen by the vet’s regulatory body the Royal College […]

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Abstracts: Iatrogenic traumatic brain injury during tooth extraction

An 8 yr old spayed female Yorkshire terrier was referred for evaluation of progressive neurological signs after a routine dental prophylaxis with tooth extractions. The patient was circling to the left and blind in the right eye with right hemiparesis. Neurolocalization was to the left forebrain. MRI revealed a linear tract extending from the caudal […]

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Barry the green sea turtle soon will return to the ocean around North Stradbroke Island, thanks to the speedy intervention of several wildlife professionals. The University of Queensland’s Moreton Bay Research Station, the Quandamooka Rangers, Sea World, and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service all worked together to save the 49cm turtle, who had a […]

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Abstracts: A scientific comment on the welfare of domesticated ruminants slaughtered without stunning

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 tools are […]

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