Culling and vet concerns
Hello lovely people actually reading this blog, I'm amazed every week that people actually read this, but thank you for reading it, if it's your first time good luck, I'm no professional writer, if not then hello welcome back hope you enjoy.
So looking through the news this week and listening on the radio there is more news on TB and especially in the area that I live, more badger culling has been permitted, actually in 11 new areas. The process in which the badgers will be culled has been agreed on by the government and the BVA, it's called trapping and shooting, which is deemed more humane than the controlled shooting of previous badger culls. All of this is within the aim to eradicate bovine TB from England. Defra who issued the new badger culling licence have also said that there will be a recommencement of the badger vaccinations. This whole aim to remove bovine TB from England is very important, at the moment Scotland has an official Bovine TB free status. However they have said that they will continue to do regular test on the cattle. They have also proposed changes to the compensation arrangement in Scotland due to this update in the TB status. I think that its so important to do all of this testing, when I was doing work experience I spent a whole day doing TB tests and though it was cold and wet and takes a very long time, I understand how important this is to try and stop it from spreading.
OK moving on with the show, we are moving onto slaughter houses. So the Food Standards Agency has recently completed a survey about stunning in slaughter houses, killing animals without stunning them can compromise the animals welfare at the time of death, this is a major issue it was found by FSA that almost a quarter of goat and sheep slaughtering houses between April and June this year were killing by slitting their throat without being insensible to pain ( without being stunned ). This value is up from 2013 when it was only 15% however the EU and UK both bought in exemptions at this time for religious purposes. So not only is this happening in sheep and goats it is also happening in chickens with the percentage of chickens being killed without stunning has gone from 3% in 2013 to 18.5% in 2017 according to the FSA. The BVA president said that these number are very significant and poses a threat to the veterinary profession, these official studies have uncovered a major animal welfare issue that must be addressed. Having been at an abattoir for a day I was lucky enough to see the proper practice carried out, though the shocking of the animals at first was hard to watch it became apparent that this was the most humane way as after the shock they couldn't feel the pain.
So despite me going on about the slaughter houses welfare problem, this isn't the top of the health and welfare concern list for vets. I have mentioned this before but as its come up in the news again why not mention it again. Vets have noticed over the past few years a rise in dogs being bought in with breeding defects particularly pugs and French bulldogs. These dogs bred with defects like the flat face can cause serious health and welfare problems, in this case a difficulty to breath due to their soft pallet being too long for their mouth. These breeding defects can cause disease, health problems, bad socialisation and this can lead to behavioural problems, this can make the dogs life miserable and the life expectance much lower than dogs bred without the defects. If a dog does become un-socialised and have behavioural problems then it could easily end up in a rescue centre or being out down, this is putting pressure on the rescue centres and is unfair on the dogs. In the case of Labradors the scheme that the kennel club and the BVA run for scoring hips and elbows has been working and though I cant remember the exact numbers I watched a video the other week about it and the numbers of Labradors having hip or elbow dysplasia has decreased which is great news as it means that less dogs will be in pain. I can see why this is a major welfare issue for vets and its top of their list, many people aren't educated enough to see these defects in the breeds and with breeds like the pug and the French bulldog becoming more popular I think that it is really important to try and educate owners about the different defects in breeds and how much they can affect the dogs health and wellbeing. Though I've written this post a bit too late the BVA did do a Puppy Awareness Week from the 4-10 September. I'm sure there will be another next year, and if you are a first time dog owner or looking to buy a dog please look into the breeds you are thinking of getting they need to be suited to your lifestyle and the space and time you have available, also look into and possible breed defects and talk to a vet about it they will be able to give you a helping hand, for more about breeder and puppy farms I did a post a few weeks ago on that so please go check it out.
Well that's it for today I hope you enjoyed reading this, I know its a bit mix and match but hey ho its how my brain works. I hope you have a wonderful day and the rest of your week goes well, I will see you next Thursday and if you didn't like it well I sorry about that maybe next week will be better. Thank you for reading, always grateful at least a few people care.
So looking through the news this week and listening on the radio there is more news on TB and especially in the area that I live, more badger culling has been permitted, actually in 11 new areas. The process in which the badgers will be culled has been agreed on by the government and the BVA, it's called trapping and shooting, which is deemed more humane than the controlled shooting of previous badger culls. All of this is within the aim to eradicate bovine TB from England. Defra who issued the new badger culling licence have also said that there will be a recommencement of the badger vaccinations. This whole aim to remove bovine TB from England is very important, at the moment Scotland has an official Bovine TB free status. However they have said that they will continue to do regular test on the cattle. They have also proposed changes to the compensation arrangement in Scotland due to this update in the TB status. I think that its so important to do all of this testing, when I was doing work experience I spent a whole day doing TB tests and though it was cold and wet and takes a very long time, I understand how important this is to try and stop it from spreading.
OK moving on with the show, we are moving onto slaughter houses. So the Food Standards Agency has recently completed a survey about stunning in slaughter houses, killing animals without stunning them can compromise the animals welfare at the time of death, this is a major issue it was found by FSA that almost a quarter of goat and sheep slaughtering houses between April and June this year were killing by slitting their throat without being insensible to pain ( without being stunned ). This value is up from 2013 when it was only 15% however the EU and UK both bought in exemptions at this time for religious purposes. So not only is this happening in sheep and goats it is also happening in chickens with the percentage of chickens being killed without stunning has gone from 3% in 2013 to 18.5% in 2017 according to the FSA. The BVA president said that these number are very significant and poses a threat to the veterinary profession, these official studies have uncovered a major animal welfare issue that must be addressed. Having been at an abattoir for a day I was lucky enough to see the proper practice carried out, though the shocking of the animals at first was hard to watch it became apparent that this was the most humane way as after the shock they couldn't feel the pain.
So despite me going on about the slaughter houses welfare problem, this isn't the top of the health and welfare concern list for vets. I have mentioned this before but as its come up in the news again why not mention it again. Vets have noticed over the past few years a rise in dogs being bought in with breeding defects particularly pugs and French bulldogs. These dogs bred with defects like the flat face can cause serious health and welfare problems, in this case a difficulty to breath due to their soft pallet being too long for their mouth. These breeding defects can cause disease, health problems, bad socialisation and this can lead to behavioural problems, this can make the dogs life miserable and the life expectance much lower than dogs bred without the defects. If a dog does become un-socialised and have behavioural problems then it could easily end up in a rescue centre or being out down, this is putting pressure on the rescue centres and is unfair on the dogs. In the case of Labradors the scheme that the kennel club and the BVA run for scoring hips and elbows has been working and though I cant remember the exact numbers I watched a video the other week about it and the numbers of Labradors having hip or elbow dysplasia has decreased which is great news as it means that less dogs will be in pain. I can see why this is a major welfare issue for vets and its top of their list, many people aren't educated enough to see these defects in the breeds and with breeds like the pug and the French bulldog becoming more popular I think that it is really important to try and educate owners about the different defects in breeds and how much they can affect the dogs health and wellbeing. Though I've written this post a bit too late the BVA did do a Puppy Awareness Week from the 4-10 September. I'm sure there will be another next year, and if you are a first time dog owner or looking to buy a dog please look into the breeds you are thinking of getting they need to be suited to your lifestyle and the space and time you have available, also look into and possible breed defects and talk to a vet about it they will be able to give you a helping hand, for more about breeder and puppy farms I did a post a few weeks ago on that so please go check it out.
Well that's it for today I hope you enjoyed reading this, I know its a bit mix and match but hey ho its how my brain works. I hope you have a wonderful day and the rest of your week goes well, I will see you next Thursday and if you didn't like it well I sorry about that maybe next week will be better. Thank you for reading, always grateful at least a few people care.
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