VetNI

Veterinary Northern Ireland

NIVAs “Step out to help out!” challenge – 2021

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Just a few pics of SOME of the NIVA “Step Out to Help Out” walks

Answers to some FAQs:

Yes, doing the walks on horseback is allowed!

Our charities? NI Air Ambulance and Vet Support NI.

No, its not too late to join in – these walks will continue all year. Drop VetNI a line if you can’t find the details. We’ll get you signed up and send you a very desirable NIVA snood/buff/neck gaiter thingy so you too can make jokes about walking in the buff!

Submitting photos of your walks isn’t compulsory but it does give you the chance to win a prize 🙂

If you want to join in whilst pushing a lawnmower, who are we to stop you.

Can’t manage the walking? Why not sponsor other walkers instead? the JustGiving page is here.

Yes, group walks with NIVA colleagues are now being planned. Watch your e-mails for details!

RCVS review of ‘under care’ and 24/7 emergency cover

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What are the implications of new technologies for both animal health and welfare and veterinary regulation?

What are your views on the provision of 24/7 emergency cover?

How should we interpret an animal being under the care of a veterinary surgeon?

Where does remote consulting (vet-to-client telemedicine) fit into current practice and what are its limitations?

The RCVS launched an online qualitative survey to gain the views and feedback of UK-based veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses on 19 May 2021 so its YOUR turn to have your say!

An email containing a personalised link to the survey has been sent to rgeistered vets and vet nurses. If you can’t see yours, you can apply to complete the survey by sending an e-mail to RCVSsurvey@accent-mr.com.

The survey closes at 5pm on Wednesday, 16 June 2021. It should take 15-20 minutes to complete, but can be returned to and completed in stages if preferred.

Targeted assitance for vet practices reporting antimicrobial usage on farms

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Veterinary practices can benefit from funding to install a new software that makes it simpler to report antibiotic usage on farms across Northern Ireland. Thanks to a research initiative in Northern Ireland entitled ‘STrategic AntiMicrobial use in Dairy, Beef and Lamb Production’ (STAMP), a software application to benchmark antibiotic use is now widely available. The Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland (LMC) will fund the installation cost of the ‘STAMP AMU Benchmarking Tool’ in practices across Northern Ireland between 1st April 2021 and 31st March 2022. The tool can also be used to report antibiotic usage for the purposes of the Northern Ireland Beef and Lamb Farm Quality Assurance Scheme (NIBL FQAS), thereby replacing the need for vets to fill out the existing paper form.
Demonstrating the responsible use of antibiotics is a critical component of food production. The beef, sheep and dairy industry must respond to the needs of its customers. However, a key challenge faced by vets and producers is gathering accurate information on the purchase and use of medicines on farms. The benchmarking tool developed in partnership with the STAMP project partners and Farmvet Systems is a user-friendly web-based platform that captures and monitors antibiotic prescription use at farm level. With the appropriate permissions in place, the tool aggregates and standardises existing data sets from vet practices, APHIS or vet entered records in VetIMPRESS to produce AMU reports in a few simple steps; with significant savings made on the time it takes to produce reports manually. The tool also provides producers with key information that supports decisions to improve animal health and enables vets to have effective discussions with their clients on how best to optimise the use of antibiotics.
Commenting on the funding opportunity, Colin Smith, Industry Development Manager at The Livestock and Meat Commission for Northern Ireland said: “LMC is delighted to confirm it will fund the installation cost of the STAMP AMU Benchmarking Tool. The funding provides a one-off opportunity to help the industry meet the challenges ahead around strategic use of antibiotics. The application offers a quick and easy way to monitor antibiotic use with minimal data input and we are delighted to support the adoption of this tool in practices across Northern Ireland.”
George Brownlee, CEO of Farmvet Systems, continues: “The important area of antibiotic use in livestock production is increasingly coming under the spotlight. A capability of our VetIMPRESS platform is the capacity for vets to effectively monitor medicine usage. We are pleased to put our expertise towards the development of this industry-wide platform, which will lead to more responsible use of antibiotics for the long-term benefit of farmers, their animals and the public. The STAMP AMU Benchmarking Tool will enable vets to make informed decisions as advisors and provide an effective means for vets and producers to work together.”
Funding will be available to veterinary practices in Northern Ireland from 1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022 and will cover the cost of the software installation. Vets who wish to use the tool should contact Farmvet Systems Ltd directly to organise installation on 028 8674 7378 or visit www.vetimpress.com/stampni.

The Grand NIVA Virtual Village Fete – Class 7

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Luke Gamble of Worldwide Veterinary Service is used to assessing pets but nevertheless was almost flummoxed when asked to compare them to their owners. Luke kindly adjudicated the final class of the Virtual Village Fete – Class 7 – Pet most like its owner. Here are the results!

In third place, a good likeness though “not quite hairy enough” – its John Hill entered by Susie Hill. Its hard to believe but Susie says they are both both wilful and difficult at times!

In second place, a merging of dog and owner, its Susie Hill and Annie!

And in first place, a deserving winning entry from Rachael Frew, its Otis and Jeff – but which one is Otis and which one is Jeff?

The similarities are unmistakable! Well done to all entrants in this and all of the other classes. If you had even half the fun compiling your entries that we (VetNI) had opening them, then we must formally declare this Virtual Village Fete a resounding success. Roll on next year’s event!

The Grand NIVA Virtual Village Fete – Class 5

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The eagle-eyed amongst you may have realised that there are two NIVA Virtual Village Fete classes whose winners have not been announced. This was due to the busy lifestyle of the judges that we approached. TV vet Luke Gamble of the Worldwide Veterinary Service is obviously a very busy man too, yet he kindly found time to adjudicate Classes 5 and 7 for us. Thanks Luke! Watch his adjudication of both classes HERE.

As a reminder, the lockdown task in Class 5 was to recreate a famous artwork or celebrity photograph using whoever and whatever was available in the home or workplace. One family excelled at this task – its almost a clean sweep!

In joint third place, two entries that both revel in the macabre . . . Susan Cunningham managed to persuade her son Hugh to replicate Death of Marat by Jaques-Louis David and Jo Gibson arranged her family to recreate Caravaggio’s “Salome with the head of John the Baptist”

In second place, another stunning entry from Susan as the Cunningham boys – Hugh, Ralph and Miles – brilliantly re-create the Bronte “sisters” as painted by their brother Branwell.

and in first place (can you spot the trend?!) Susan Cunningham and family trip down the yellow brick road in the Wizard of Oz. The “real” lion is husband Johnny, taking a break from practising the Welly Darts.

Congratulations to all our entrants, most of whom were Cunninghams – now that’s a family that enjoys dressing up!

NIVGS Autumn Outing Cancelled

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Due to the present COVID situation, The North of Ireland Veterinary Golf Society Autumn Outing due to be held in September has with regret been cancelled. Therefore the Jim McDowell trophy and BOCM cup will not be played for this year.
Bert Allison will be continuing his role as Captain in 2021.

The Grand NIVA Virtual Village Fete – Class 4

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Covid Cake – now this would have been the class to judge provided all the entries could be tasted! Sadly our celebrity adjudicator had to make his choice from a beautiful range of cakes based entirely on photographic evidence. Our thanks go to chef Paul Rankin for taking the time to judge this class. I’m sure you all have all used some of his recipes or products at one time or another and you can see that he’s a class act in front of the camera from his very watchable adjudication video which can be found HERE.

So . . . in third place, Isla Doherty (5 years old) with a little help from Simon Doherty (much older!)

In second place, Sarah McEvoy (10 years old)

and in first place, Rachael Frew

Don’t they look both beautiful and delicious?! Well done to our winners and to all other entrants.

The Grand NIVA Virtual Village Fete – Class 3

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Stepping forward to judge his second fete class is renowned Irish artist Trevor Brown. What a difficult class to judge! It attracted the second highest number of entries including pottery, drawing, photography, flower arranging, crochet, book art and needle felting. Well done Trevor – how ever did you choose your winners from such a varied array of creativity?!

Trevor says: “In third place, Entry 8 – ‘Needle felted mice gathering provisions for miceolation!’ – So many little details and you can see the amount of work that has gone into this scene.

In second place, Entry 11 – Photography. – Most photographs are happy accidents but you can feel Spring from this photo. The lamb looks content and happy in it’s new world.

And the winner is Entry 9 – ‘A pin cushion, hand thrown pot, pit fired to colour using plants from my garden then needle felted scene.’ – The colours are beautiful and the glazes work really well on this piece. You can see it is made by hand and suits its purpose well.”

So . . . in third place, Eve Young

In second place, Rhonda Shiels

In first place, Eve Young

Congratulations to ALL entrants – we knew you were great vets but you kept your artistic talents hidden from us until now!

African Swine Fever (ASF)

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DAERA is currently running a UK-wide campaign to raise awareness of the risks of African Swine Fever (ASF) to pigs. Its important that they reach all pig keepers with their messages. Commercial pig keepers are aware of the risks of ASF but the level of awareness amongst small holders/pet pig keepers may not be so high.

DAERA is gather more information which will better inform them on how to support these sectors. They have created a survey which specifically targets small scale pig keepers.  Please share this with your full veterinary team and ask them to share the survey with small scale pig holders/pet pig owners.

The survey can be found here and more information is available on the Defra website at the following link Small scale pig keepers ASF survey

DAERA is grateful for your ongoing support with proactive messaging regarding vigilance, early reporting of suspected disease and importance of maintaining biosecurity. Anything we can do to improve our communications will help in keeping this devastating disease out of NI.