In 2021, video games are big business – bigger in dollar terms than Hollywood and North American sports combined. Video games are not just for children: many parents and other adults play video games on a regular basis. Games such as Grand Theft Auto can be both hyperviolent and a […]
Vet Ethics: Abuse at home – addressing the animal aspects
The Victorian parliament has been presented with a motion that would recognise animal abuse as often intimately related to family violence. Advanced by Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick, the motion aims to address the serious problem of women (and sometimes men) who are unable to leave abusive relationships due […]
Vet ethics: Pointing the finger at pandemic-causing behaviour
A recent article in Neuroepidemiology, called “What the COVID-19 crisis is telling humanity,” argues that the way we treat animals puts us at risk of further disasters similar to the current pandemic. The authors, David Wiebers and Valery Feigin, are neuroscientists. Their call for a change in our treatment of […]
Vet Ethics: Taking protection against infection … from animals
Knowledge of the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on animals continues to emerge, albeit slowly. We already knew that the virus probably originated from bats, and may have passed on through an intermediary animal, perhaps the pangolin. We now also now that SARS-CoV-2 can infect pet cats and dogs and cause illness, […]
Vet Ethics: A war of words over wet markets
Major figures such as United States President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have claimed that SARS-COV-2 escaped from a Chinese laboratory. Experts, however, think it is more likely that the novel coronavirus originated from human contact with wildlife, possibly in a wet market in Wuhan. The new […]