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Giant pouch rats to sniff out pangolins
Pangolin
Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal.

US government takes unique approach to wildlife trafficking

The US government is testing the African giant pouch rat to see if it can help detect illegal shipments of pangolins in Tanzania.

Listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of endangered species, pangolins are the world’s most trafficked mammal. Illegally traded for their skin and scales, every part of a pangolin is thought to have some medicinal value.

Now a huge grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will see rats trained to detect illegal shipments of pangolins. According to The Guardian, some $100,000 will be spent on training African giant pouch rats to detect the animals. They will also learn how to communicate this to their human handlers.

The innovative approach forms part of a bigger $1.2 million package of funding, which will be used to:

    •    Help forest patrols reduce poaching threats to tigers and other species in Indonesia
    •    Use sniffer dogs to combat trafficking in saga horn in Kazakhstan
    •    Support conservation-religion partnerships to combat illegal wildlife trade in Malaysia.

Commenting on the funding, USFWS service director Dan Ashe said: “These grants provide much-needed resources to support projects on the ground where wildlife trafficking is decimating some of the Earth’s most cherished and most unusual species.

“These grant recipients are using pioneering approaches to address the illegal wildlife trade in the places where it starts and where demand for wildlife products feeds the criminal supply chain of illegal goods.”

Previously, African pouch rats have been trained to detect landmines and tuberculosis.

In 1995, Bart Weetjens, a Belgian rat enthusiast, formed Apopo - a social enterprise that researches, develops and implements detection rats technology. Since the organisation was formed, their rats have identified over 5,000 TB patients and detected 1,500 buried landlines.

 

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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. 

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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.