Veterinary issues of global concern

The International Veterinary Officers Coalition (IVOC) meets annually and this year held its meeting in Sydney, Australia, in May, a few days after the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) conference in Canberra.     

Veterinary surgeons' opinions on dog welfare issues

Objectives : To begin to determine the significance of various dog welfare issues as perceived by veterinary practitioners. Methods : Using an online questionnaire, respondents were asked how frequently they were made aware of 12 welfare issues and how important they felt each one was for each dog affected. Respondents were also asked how much they agreed with statements that the veterinary practitioners in their area, and the veterinary profession, should do more about each issue. Results : Responses were received from 59 practitioners. The most frequently noted problems were “obesity”, “chronic pain/poor mobility” and “breed‐related conditions”. The most important issues for each dog affected were “lack of treatment for suffering”, “abuse or active cruelty” and “malnutrition”. “Breed‐related conditions”, “obesity” and “behavioural problems” were the issues for which there was greatest agreement that veterinary practitioners should do more, both in their area and as a profession. Clinical Significance : This pilot study suggests that the veterinary profession believes that obesity, breed‐related conditions and behavioural problems are important concerns, and that more should be done about them. Although these results cannot be taken as definitive from a study of this size, it does provide a background for such further work involving companion dog welfare and the veterinary profession.     

Veterinary drug legal situation for oral medication in animal facilities in Germany

Oral medication of animal stocks can be administered via oral ready-to-use veterinary medicinal products or by using medicated feedingstuffs. The regulations contained in the German Drug Act (Arzneimittelgesetz - AMG) and the ordinances derived from the AMG are applicable to both types of medicinal product. The legal requirements relating to the manufacture, authorisation, marketing, dispensing and proper use of these medicinal products in respect of oral medication are dealt with in detail. Pursuant to Section 13 AMG, companies that manufacture medicated feedingstuffs require a manufacturing licence. To take into account the special features of these medicinal products, specific stipulations have been laid down regarding the manufacture and dispensing of medicated feedingstuffs by these companies. The use of medicated feedingstuffs is for various reasons in steep decline, while oral ready-to-use medicinal products are, according to reports on practice in the relevant sector, increasingly being used to treat animal stocks as well. When dispensing veterinary medicinal products, the veterinarian must comply with the state of the art and make sure that the animal keeper is able to use the drugs properly. In order to react to doubts regarding compliance with these legal requirements, recommendations for use of oral medication should be developed which provide veterinarians with an aid to assist them in deciding which type of drugs are most suited for the respective case, and what is to be complied with in their use. The recommendations for use are intended to facilitate the correct application of oral medication in respect of both types of veterinary medicinal product.     

Veterinary cancer registries in companion animal cancer: a review

Current and prior veterinary cancer registries are few in number and scattered. Different inclusion criteria, dissimilar collection methods and variable reference population estimation methods pose obstacles in the comparisons between veterinary and human cancer registries. Veterinary cancer registries have yielded information on the risk and incidence of different cancer types in certain breeds and geographical regions, as well as provided information on genetic and environmental risk factors in some cancers. The objective of this article is to review the prior and current veterinary cancer registries, the information they have contributed and to discuss different issues relating to their structure including inclusion criteria, study populations, reference populations utilized in evaluations, recorded variables and the outcome from these.     

Veterinary pharmacovigilance. Part 1. The legal basis in the European Union

Pharmacovigilance is a growing discipline and nowhere is this more true than in the context of the legislative requirements for veterinary pharmacovigilance within the European Union (EU), or more specifically, within the European Economic Area. Since 1995, the legislation governing the authorization of veterinary medicinal products in the EU has resulted in the older national procedures being replaced by the mutual recognition procedure and the centralized procedure. Also since 1995, the regulatory requirements for pharmacovigilance have developed and grown, as have the associated guidelines. The recent review of European veterinary medicines legislation, which concluded with the publication of an amending directive and a new regulation in March 2004, has introduced refinements to the pharmacovigilance system. This paper examines the EU legislation governing the authorization of veterinary medicinal products, including the elaboration of maximum residue limits, and the way in which this relates to the requirements of pharmacovigilance.