An Australian Government announcement that tax-deductions for work related self-education expenses will be limited to $2000 per person per year penalises well intentioned vets, according to the Australian Veterinary Association. The cap, which comes into effect on 1 July 2014, is designed to yield savings to help fund the Government’s National Plan for School Improvement. […]
Continue ReadingA scientific literature review and consensus of expert opinion used the welfare definitions provided by the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) Five Freedoms as the framework for selecting a set of animal-based indicators that were sensitive to the current on-farm welfare issues of young lambs (aged ⩽6 weeks). Ten animal-based indicators assessed by observation – […]
Continue ReadingThe actions of a concerned Egyptian veterinarian have thrown the live export industry in to yet another scandal. In April Mahmoud Abdelwahab corresponded with animal welfare group Animals Australia, and they subsequently obtained footage of slaughterhouses in Egypt. The footage shows cruelty in facilities that the live export industry has previously deemed to meet Australian […]
Continue ReadingDisease control measures require poultry to be killed on farms to minimise the risk of disease being transmitted to other poultry and, in some cases, to protect public health. We assessed the welfare implications for poultry of the use of high-expansion gas-filled foam as a potentially humane, emergency killing method. In laboratory trials, broiler chickens, […]
Continue ReadingRecent research has suggested the stomach may also have been the pathway that led to man and dog becoming best friends. A study led by evolutionary geneticist Erik Axelsson from the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology at Sweden’s Uppsala University, has found evidence of genetic differences between domestic dogs and wolves that could explain […]
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