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Virtual congress to tackle pet obesity
The event will include sessions delivered by leading UK and international experts.
Event will explore how to approach conversations with owners. 

A free one-day virtual event is being offered to veterinary professionals to help them navigate the challenge of pet obesity.

Hosted by Royal Canin, the Weight Management Virtual Congress will include sessions delivered by leading UK and international experts on a range of topics, including:
  • obesity prevention - tools you can use in practice to help promote a healthy weight and practical advice you can pass to owners. 
  • risk factors – insights from recent studies 
  • how to approach conversations with owners of overweight pets who feed or prefer unconventional diets 
  • why tackling obesity makes business sense 
  • peri-anaesthetic management of obese patients. 
Among the speakers include Alex German, Professor of Small Animal Medicine at the University of Liverpool, who will discuss whether prevention is better than cure for obesity.  

Gwen Covey-Crump, senior clinician in anaesthesia at Langford Vets, will explore the impact of obesity on chronic pain, and award-winning US vet Ernie Ward will explain how to talk about pet food and obesity without sounding like a salesperson.

Delegates can then apply their knowledge to a real-life case in an interactive workshop run by weight-management specialists Georgia-Woods Lee and Lindsay Calcraft. 

Lindsay Calcraft, who is also organising the event, said: “We all know that obesity reduces pets’ life spans and puts them at risk of developing a number of health concerns. Together, we can battle this disease. We’ve organised this congress to help you to manage the weight and health of pets throughout their lives.”

The one-day event is being hosted on Royal Canin's new Virtual event centre, providing games, social networking and access to product displays and information during and after the event. 

A further 10 hours of on-demand sessions will be released during the event, focusing on the science of obesity, feline behaviour, obesity and osteoarthritis, approach to nutrients for obesity and the evolution of weight management diets.

For more details and to register for your place, click here.

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.