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Welfare webinar attracts interest
Professor Bill Reilly
300 attendees joined BVA webinar

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) delivered a thought-provoking and informative webinar on welfare at slaughter last week, in conjunction with the Webinar Vet.

Former president of the BVA and public health expert, Professor Bill Reilly, delivered the webinar aimed primarily at veterinary surgeons. It attracted 300 attendees who tuned in to hear the latest statistics on the scale of slaughter without stunning in the UK and the international situation.

The webinar, titled “Out of Sight: Out of Mind? Do we care about welfare at slaughter?” focused on the slaughter process and the controversial issue of slaughter without stunning – currently practised in the UK and Europe for religious purposes. He also raised the question of what the veterinary profession should be doing to improve welfare at slaughter and highlighted upcoming consultations across the UK on new slaughter regulations.

The webinar followed Professor Reilly’s Viewpoint article in the Veterinary Record, which generated a huge amount of national media interest in the issue and led to questions in the House of Commons.

Professor Reilly’s webinar is now available to watch here.

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Annual submission deadline small pet animal exemptions

News Story 1
 Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.

Submitting this annual return ensures continued compliance with regulatory requirements for products marketed without a full Marketing Authorisation. The exemption specifically applies to products intended for animals, cage birds, terrarium animals, small rodents, ferrets and rabbits.

For further details and submission guidelines, visit the gov.uk website.  

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Bluetongue RZ extended across Scotland

The Scottish Government has announced an extension to a Bluetongue Restricted Zone that is in place in south-west Scotland.

From 3 October, the Restricted Zone will be extended to cover the whole of Scotland. The Animal, Plant and Health Agency (APHA) says this is in response to further disease spread, as well as simplify trading conditions ahead of the autumn.

Since the whole country will share a disease status, it will no longer be necessary to have a movement license to move susceptible livestock around the country. Restrictions on germinal products remain.

As of 1 October 2026, there were 1,979 cases of BTV-3 in England, 389 cases in Wales and 40 cases in Scotland.