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NOAH welcomes National Food Strategy
Healthy livestock need less resource inputs to produce meat and milk.

Report recommends 30 per cent reduction in meat consumption in next 10 years.

The National Office for Animal Health (NOAH) has welcomed the government's new National Food Strategy Plan, adding that it is ‘ready to support efforts to produce food from livestock more sustainably’.

The National Food Strategy, commissioned by the government in 2019, sets out a goal of 30 per cent reduction in meat consumption over 10 years to meet targets related to climate change. 

Responding to the report, NOAH chief executive Dawn Howard said: “Healthy livestock need less resource inputs to produce meat and milk, they generate less waste and have a lower carbon footprint with less methane emissions. This means the same number of animals can produce more food – or the same amount of food can be produced from fewer animals.

“Our sector is consistently at the cutting-edge of new developments, technologies, and innovation to support improvements to animal health. Innovations include new vaccines to prevent disease, digital technologies such as sensors and tags in livestock, real-time monitoring and surveillance of livestock to catch the first signs of any ill health, as well as diagnostics to improve treatment success and the responsible use of antibiotics. 

“This cutting-edge work has the potential to prevent animal diseases or ensure that they can be diagnosed and treated with greater accuracy, contributing to more sustainable food production,” she said. 

The plan also recommends that farmers should continue to receive government support until at least 2029. NOAH says that it also welcomes this plan, and sees DEFRA’s recent pledge to fund a yearly vet visit to eligible farms through the Annual Health and Welfare review, as important. 

“We welcome this as a statement that good animal health is integral to good welfare and sustainable farming and a better understanding of the health of our national herd will help identify areas where future support can be directed,” said Dawn.

“As well as the importance of the development of new vaccines, better use of existing vaccines against endemic disease is a big area where improvements can be made through farmers’ partnership with a vet-led team: they offer a high quality, safe and effective solution to today’s animal health challenges and form a cornerstone of a holistic preventative health approach”.

She added: “The suggestion within the Plan that incentivising innovation to support a better food system should be part of the Government’s Innovation Strategy is also a worthy idea. We look forward to playing our part in this and so it is critical that our sector has UK policy and regulatory frameworks that encourage innovation and keep pace with technologies”.

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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.