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Conservationists launch wildlife trade app
Elephants
The Wildlife Witness app was developed by zoos in Australia led by Taronga.
Enlists tourists to report wildlife trade offences

Members of the public are being encouraged to report wildlife trade offences when they see them via a smartphone app.

Forming part of Taronga Zoo’s Lend Your Eyes to the Wild campaign, the Wildlife Witness app allows tourists and locals to easily report wildlife trade by taking a photograph and pinning it to the exact location of the incident.

The details are then passed on to TRAFFIC, a monitoring network for wildlife trade.

“We want people to be the eyes and ears in the fight against illegal wildlife trade,” said Dr Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC’s South East Asia regional director.

Lend Your Eyes to the Wild is an international campaign to combat the trade in illegal wildlife.

Supported by Taronga Zoo in Australia, Santiago Zoo in the US and Chester Zoo in the UK, the campaign was launched in April 2016 in response to ‘an unparalleled spike’ in illegal wildlife trade.

“Given that world Zoos are visited by more than 700 million people annually, imagine how quickly the illegal wildlife trade would be stopped if everyone took action together. We’re hoping the Lend Your Eyes campaign will make this a reality,” said Cameron Kerr, director of Taronga Zoo.

The Wildlife Witness app was developed by zoos in Australia led by Taronga.

Illegal wildlife trade is considered the fourth largest in the world, after drugs, counterfeiting and human trafficking.

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."