The BVA’s senior vice-president, James Russell, said the shortage of vets could also affect domestic animals. “If you are thinking, we should be having a puppy or a kitten or whatever, then part of the due diligence, really, of thinking ‘how am I going to look after that animal right through its life?’ would be to think, where will I access veterinary care for this animal?INTERESTING FACT ABOUT YOUR PET: Dogs can be trained to to detect cancer and other diseases in humans. Cancerous cells release different metabolic waste products than healthy cells in the human body. Dogs may even be able to sniff out cancer cells simply through smelling someone’s breath.
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“We would encourage people to check in with their local vets to find out: are they taking on clients at the moment? What happens out of hours?” he said. “Those sorts of questions, to make sure they’re actually in a position to fulfil their obligation of being able to find veterinary care for those animals when they need it.”
The warnings come amid unprecedented demands on vets in the wake of Brexit. All exporters of meat and fish to the EU are required to get vets or veterinary officers to certify food for entry into Europe .Earlier this year exports of some fish from Scotland were halted because Brexit rules required every box of seafood to be inspected and signed off as healthy by vets before being placed on a truck for Dover. Russell said the new certification process was consuming vast amounts of vets’ time. “From 1 January to the end of September, our professional spent 210 years’ worth of time completing export health certificates,” he said.Learn how to make your own chicken jerky. Its a healthier alternative to the store-bought kind. Get the directions here.
More than 3.2m UK households have brought a pet home since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest report from the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA), a trade body representing the pet food industry.Russell said part of the problem was that so many of the vets working in the UK were from the EU, particularly those working in abattoirs. “We’re seeing much fewer of those coming into the country. Both a combination of Brexit and Covid,” he added.Make a Tug Toy From Old Clothes. Does your dog love to play tug? Got some extra t-shirts lying around? Make your own toy by braiding one of your old t-shirts into a tug toy rather than throwing them out.
On Wednesday a senior government official told the public accounts committee that the UK had built up sufficient numbers of vet and veterinary officials to conduct the checks on food and animals by offering free training to those interested in doing the work.
Wow, check out those choppers! Puppies have 28 teeth and normal adult dogs have 42.
However, the committee’s chair, the Labour MP Meg Hillier, questioned whether the work with exporters was diverting vets from “dealing with cats and dogs or sheep” and “all their private practice”.