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Sheep Veterinary Society appoints new president
From left to right, Joe Henry, Kim Hamer and Phillipa Page.

Kim Hamer takes over the role from Joe Henry.

Veterinary surgeon and academic clinician Kim Hamer has been appointed president of the Sheep Veterinary Society at its Autumn conference.

Kim succeeds Joe Henry, who has become senior vice president following the retirement of David Wilson from the committee. Farm veterinary surgeon Phillipa Page joins the officials as junior vice president.

Raised on the Welsh Borders in a farming and veterinary family, Kim is passionate about disease prevention, supporting farms and teaching students. Her work at the School of Biodiversity One Health and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow sees her involved in research and supervising residents at the European College of Small Ruminant Health Management.

Kim has extensive experience working in clinical practice, including eight years in mixed practice in the Welsh/English Borders, focusing on farm animal medicine and sheep preventative health.  She spent two years at the Farm Animal Practice at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, during which she co-authored Sheep Keeping as part of The Professional Smallholders Series with Phillipa Page. She is currently undertaking a PhD in veterinary ecology.

Kim's research encompasses a wide array of topics related to sheep health, including sheep parasitology, micro-mineral nutrition, and neurology. Currently, she is focused on antibiotic use in remote rural settings and exploring how a digital diagnostic decision-support tool could help improve clinical outcomes for sheep and goats in sub-Saharan Africa. 

The Sheep Veterinary Society brings together all those interested in the welfare and production of sheep, including vets, flock owners and advisors from across the UK, Europe and the world. Members of the Society and Committee are actively engaged in various groups and initiatives, contributing to ideas and policies that will directly influence the future of the sheep farming industry. 

The Autumn Sheep Veterinary conference took place in Morpeth, Northumberland, 23-25 September. 

Image (C) Sheep Veterinary Society.

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Antibiotic Amnesty survey opens

News Story 1
 The Responsible Use of Medicines Alliance - Companion Animal and Equine (RUMA - CA&E) has launched a survey which seeks to measure the success of this year's Antibiotic Amnesty campaign.

Its results will help the group to calculate how many unused or out-of-date antibiotics were returned as part of the campaign throughout November. Practices are also asked how they engaged with clients to raise awareness of the issue.

Participating practices can enter a prize draw to win up to 100 in vouchers for taking part. Further prizes from BSAVA and Webinar Vet will be available for practices with the best input.

The survey takes a few minutes to complete and will be running throughout December. It can be accessed via this link

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue cases lead to restricted zone extension

Following the detection of new cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3), the restricted zone has been extended to include additional parts of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire, as well as Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and part of Dorset.

The zone now covers 28 counties and unitary authorities in England. As of 16 December, 185 cases of BTV-3 have been confirmed in England and Wales during the current vector period.

Bluetongue is a notifiable disease. Suspected cases must be reported on 03000 200 301 in England or 03003 038 268 in Wales. In Scotland, suspected cases should be reported to the local field services office. Suspected cases in Northern Ireland should be reported to the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or by contacting the local DAERA Direct Veterinary Office.

A map of the area where movement restrictions apply can be found here.