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Cull may not reduce TB, chief vet admits
badger
Just 274 badgers were culled in Gloucestershire, less than half of the minimum target of 615.
Second badger cull falls short of the target

Pilot badger culls in Gloucestershire may not reduce TB in cattle, the UK's chief veterinary officer has admitted. Despite this, he has advised the culls should continue in 2015.

For the second year running, cull companies have fallen short of their target. According to government estimates, a minimum of 615 badgers should have been culled in West Gloucestershire to offer disease benefits to cattle. Yet only 274 badgers were culled - less than half of the target.

Chief vet Nigel Gibbens said: "Given the lower level of badger population reduction in the the Gloucestershire cull area over the past two years, the benefits of reducing disease in cattle over the planned four-year cull may not be realised there."

However, Mr Gibbens said culling should continue there in 2015 and at least one subsequent year, assuming there are "reasonable grounds for confidence" that efficacy can be improved.

Furthermore, Mr Gibbens even suggested culling should be repeated in the area beyond 2017. "As there has been a slow start," he said, "we should consider whether culling should be repeated in future years beyond 2017 in order to increase the likelihood of reduced disease in cattle."

In West Somerset - the second cull area - a total of 341 badgers were culled, just over the minimum target of 316.

Mr Gibbens said the culls should continue for at least two more years in West Somerset: "The outcome of this year's cull in Somerset indicates that industry-led culling can, in the right circumstances, deliver the level of effectiveness required to be confident of achieving disease control benefits," he said.

However, the Humane Society's UK veterinary advisor Professor MacMillan has urged Defra to reconsider, saying he "simply disagrees" with Mr Gibbens. "Even on the basis of extremely dubious estimates of badger populations, Defra has failed to reach its target in one area and only just exceeded it in the other.

"The method of culling has not been shown to be humane in my opinion, and Defra's refusal to expose its data to independent analysis is an implicit admission of this. The ethics of persisting with a policy that causes animals to suffer unnecessarily and is ineffective in reducing TB in cattle must be questioned."

Meanwhile, the National Farmers Union has called for a further roll-out of the cull to new areas. President Meurig Raymond said: "There are many other areas where bTB is rife and is having a massive impact on farming family businesses which would benefit from the roll out of culling badgers." 

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.