Category: Companion Animals

For Better Or Worse?

The Brexit Transition ends on 31 December 2020 with the UK will no longer subject to the EU legislation that sets 80% of British animal welfare standards. Will this be good or bad for Britain’s commercial, domestic and wild animals, and for the vets that maintain their health and well-being?

EU Regulation Of Animal Care And Welfare

Around 44 pieces of EU legislation regulate the trade, transport and testing of animals within and between European Union member states.  All are based on the recognition and acceptance that animals are ‘sentient beings’. 17 pieces of EU legislation govern farm animal welfare, with a further 11 laws relating to wild animals, 8 concerning laboratory animals and 4 protecting companion and pet animals.

UK As World Leader In Farm Animal Standards

At the start of Brexit, The House of Lords Farm Animal Welfare Enquiry noted that, “UK farmers and producers are rightly proud of their high animal welfare standards. “Our evidence suggests the industry is united in seeking to maintain these standards and the UK’s status as a world leader on farm animal welfare”.

UK Live Animal Welfare Outside The EU Single Market

Setting its own animal welfare measures, independently of the EU, could give the UK an opportunity to further raise its own farm, domestic and wild animal standards. This could include ending the export of live animals for slaughter as permitted under EU ‘single market’ rules. Currently, a unilateral ban could illegally breach the rules of free trade in the EU.

Future Animal Welfare Versus International Competitiveness

As Britain seeks new trade agreements with its former European partners, and with the rest of the world, the UK may find itself forced to balance higher welfare standards against its international competitiveness. In their Farm Animal Welfare Enquiry, The House of Lords expressed its concern that ‘…It may be hard to reconcile the Government’s wish for the UK to become a global leader in free trade with its desire to maintain high quality standards for agri-food products within the UK.”

Co-ordination And Cooperation After Brexit

Outside the EU, the UK will lose its influence on European food safety and animal welfare organisations such as the European Food and Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW).

The RSPCA is pressing for “dynamic alignment” of animal welfare legislation as part of any free trade agreement so that if one country raises their standards, the others must do the same. It is hoped that this will provide the UK an opportunity for continued influence even after the Brexit deadline.

And What About The Vets?

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) fears that the UK would lose access to EU information and resources such as TRACES (Trade Control and Export System) and the EU disease surveillance system ADNS (Animal Disease Notification System).

The BVA also reported that figures from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) suggested that “…32 per cent of non-UK EU veterinary surgeons are considering a move back home and 18 per cent are actively looking for work outside the UK, indicating Brexit will exacerbate these shortages”.

So What Might Get Better And What Might Get Worse?

After Brexit, there is little doubt that the UK will be signing trade deals with countries holding a lower regard for animal welfare standards than Britain. As the House of Lords observed: “There is some doubt over whether animal welfare can be used as a rationale to restrict imports from other countries under WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules”. However, statistics provided by the RSPCA indicate that “55% of UK consumers surveyed looked for more information about animal welfare when shopping”.

Consumer demand, public expectations and the influence of UK veterinary professionals may well prove the best guarantee of farm animal welfare in the UK’s future outside of the EU.

To find out more about this range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website www.vetlab supplies.co.uk or Telephone us: 01798 874567

Officially Registered

Registered with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and now an officially listed Registered Charity, StreetVet provides a comprehensive ‘out on the streets’ veterinary diagnostics, treatment, welfare and owner education service for the pets of Britain’s homeless.

StreetVet: How It All Began

StreetVet began with just two vets out on the streets of London back in 2016. Armed with only what veterinary supplies and equipment could be fitted into a backpack, ‎Jade Statt and Sam Joseph set out to honour the bond of loyalty they had witnessed between one homeless man and his dog.

Back then, Gary Spall, with his staffie-cross Lola, was among the homeless still to be found on the streets around Covent Garden, London. Lola, a rescue dog from Battersea Dogs & Cats Home shared every moment of Gary’s street life, building a mutual bond of loyalty and dependence. Gary attributed his survival through the worst of times to Lola, telling news reporters: “I don’t know what I’d do without her… It’d break me if I ever lost her.”

Homeless Pets: A Reason to Keep On Keeping On

As with Gary, a pet on the streets provides more than simply companionship for many homeless. A dog or, less usually, a cat or other animal provides a focus for living and a reason just to keep on going. Unfortunately, loved as they are, street pets can find themselves excluded from the professional veterinary healthcare, diagnosis and treatment expected for homed pets. A particular worry for the homeless is who will look after their pet if and when a stay in hospital becomes unavoidable.

StreetVet, now with 300 volunteers on its books, and supported by animal charity Blue Cross, also links homeless pet owners into the charity StreetKitchen with support for their owners too. Owner education is one of the key service points that StreetVet offers, giving owners the vital information they need to understand the particular health risks to pets of a life on the streets.

Continuing Care: Vaccinations and Follow-ups

Emergency care, veterinary diagnosis and treatment is only part of the animal charity’s work with Britain’s homeless pets. Just as with any pet and owner fortunate enough to a have a roof over their heads, regular health checks, vaccinations and follow-up appointments are all part of assuring a pet’s continuing well being even after the crisis has passed.

Now an officially registered charity, StreetVet operates in Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Plymouth, Birmingham, Cheltenham, Southampton as well as in London and Cornwall. In their first year and a half, over 200 street dogs were vaccinated, microchipped (now a legal requirement), treated for fleas and medicated against parasites such as lungworm. Other pets were prescribed pain relief and some even received surgery.

Veterinary and Public Support: Vital for Pet Charities

As with all charities helping people or pets, StreetVet and Blue Cross are dependent on the generosity of the public, veterinary professionals and specialists in veterinary supplies and equipment. Vetlab supplies helps support animal charities through preferential relationships in the supply of veterinary laboratory equipment, laboratory consumables and diagnostic test kits.

Contact us about our Charity Discounts! Telephone: 01798 874567 and we will be delighted to help you.

Coming Soon to Britain’s Streets

Without diagnostic monitoring and management, feral populations place homed cats at risk of infection with FIV and FeLV, infestation with external parasites such as fleas and mites, and internal invaders including bacteria, viruses and intestinal or respiratory worms.

Understanding the Risk that Feral Felines Pose to Britain’s Pet Cats

Cat welfare charity, Cats Protection, is promoting the UK’s first major census of Britain’s stray and feral cat population. Cat Watch isn’t just a counting exercise; it’s a serious attempt to monitor the health of an estimated 1 million homeless and abandoned cats living on Britain’s city streets. The shared social nature of homed pet and homeless strays makes total separation of the parallel populations practically impossible, underlining the need to know and understand the risk that feral felines pose to Britain’s 7 million pet cats.

The Cat Watch project, tested on the streets of Nottingham, Bradford, Luton, and the Everton district of Liverpool, and supported a wide spectrum of organisations including the Liverpool University Veterinary Practice, will give a clearer view of UK feral cat health and include a neutering and welfare programme.

Uncontrolled Breeding and Abandonment of Homed Cats

Cities such as Rome, Paris and Liege are famous for their more or less successful attempts to manage the health and numbers of their feral cats. The 2010 Liege project provided important data on the risk of pet cats to strays infected with Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV), while an earlier trap-neuter-release project in Rome was undermined by the uncontrolled breeding and abandonment of homed cats.

Veterinary diagnostic testing kits for such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Rotavirus, Chlamydiosis as well as a combined diagnostic for FIV/FeLV provide the early detection essential to effective treatment and containment of disease in managed cat environments such as breeding centres and catteries. Veterinary laboratory tests also provide detection systems for external parasites including. The same tests provide an efficient resource for monitoring the health of feral and stray populations.

Three in Five Owned Cats are now Microchipped

Pet animal welfare charity BlueCross advises that most apparently stray cats do in fact have a home. Before any cat wandering into your home or garden is treated as a genuine stray, BlueCross suggest a few simple actions toward uniting the wanderer with their true owner. Talking to neighbours is a good start. Posters, press ads and local social ads will also spread the message. Attaching a paper collar to the cat with your contact details gives the cat’s owner an opportunity to confirm ownership. Pet charity, the PDSA, estimates that three in five owned cats are now microchipped. So a quick microchip scan at your local veterinary surgery or pet charity re-homing centre might well identify a cat’s owner, even the cat has travelled some considerable distance.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567