VetNI

Veterinary Northern Ireland

Avian flu – talk to your clients, particularly the backyard flock owners

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There has been a case of bird flu detected in Tipperary this week as well as multiple cases in England over the last few months. Although this may seem like an annual event,  the current strain is slightly different to previous years and this is a serious disease with potentially devastating consequences to poultry keepers and to the extensive NI poultry industry. We would therefore ask practices to remind their clients to ensure that they are registered with DAERA as this allows quick flow of information to the client. Enhanced biosecurity is vital to try and prevent the spread of this disease from wild birds to domestic flocks and the help of practices to spread this message, especially to backyard flock owners, would be much appreciated. More information is available on the DAERA website.
Biosecurity leaflet can be downloaded here.
A poster for your surgery can be downloaded here.

Treenie Bowser wins trophy and Phil Walsh installed as President at AVSPNI Omagh Day & AGM 2018

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Seamus O’Kane outgoing president of AVSPNI welcomed over 110 vets to the AFBI laboratories, Omagh on 10th January.  They had turned out to listen to the four local practitioners who gave presentations on a variety of subjects.  Esther Skelly-Smith from Shanaghan Veterinary Services kicked off the day educating the vets on equine pain; this included the understanding of pain and its assessment and management in the horse over recent years. The talk also provided evidence-based updates on equine pain assessment and its application for the practitioners.
Treenie Bowser from Parklands Veterinary Practice, Portglenone spoke next.  Treenie’s talk on dairy herd fertility gave her colleagues an overview of genomics in Holstein herds, and tips how they can apply this new technology to farms to assist breeding decisions.
After a quick cup of tea or coffee in the break the vets heard a short presentation from Sarah Campbell of MSD, the sponsors for the day.  AVSPNI would like to take the opportunity to thank MSD for their continued support and for helping make events such as this one such a great success.
John Hill then gave a very informative talk outlining some of the challenges facing bees.  The talk covered the antimicrobial properties of honey and propolis as well as lots of other very interesting facts.
Brian Jones brought this part of the day to a conclusion with his talk on reproduction in dogs.  His talk covered collection, preparation, shipping and storage of fresh, chilled and frozen semen as well as A.I. and causes of infertility in dogs.
When the presentations were finished, the speakers had a chance to relax and enjoy the rest of the day which included the AVSPNI AGM at which Phil Walsh was installed as 2018 President.  This was followed by the adjudication and award presentation of the winner’s trophy by RCVS President Stephen May and a three course dinner.  Professor May commented on how much he had enjoyed the day.  He commended all of the speakers and awarded the Frank Mullan memorial trophy to Treenie for her excellent presentation, rounding up an enjoyable and educational day.

Photo credits: David McKeown

Seamus O’Kane represents local vet associations at Veterinary Ireland Annual Presidents Dinner

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Seamus O’Kane, AVSPNI President and NIVA Junior Vice President, recently represented local vet associations at the Veterinary Ireland Annual Presidents’ Dinner in Kilkenny.  As well as a great dinner, the event provided opportunity for networking with Veterinary Ireland peers, discussion on common issues and in depth debate on the impact of Brexit on animal health and welfare.  Seamus also found time for a morning walk to enjoy the beautiful surroundings at the Lyrath Estate.  AVSPNI and NIVA are grateful for the invitation from John O’Connor, outgoing President of Veterinary Ireland.

Northern Ireland Veterinary Nurse Awards

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All veterinary nurses are dedicated to caring for animals, but just sometimes there’s a special someone who has given exceptional services in caring for pets.  It could be for example the set-up and running of a new client education focus in the practice, or helping to spread the message of pet welfare in the community. Perhaps they simply gave you some extra special help when you most needed it.  In fact, any action or contribution that you think deserves special recognition.  Nominations are welcome from pet owners or practice staff.

Click here for more info and to find out how to nominate

AVSPNI President Seamus O’Kane attends BCVA Congress

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A few words from Seamus O’Kane on his recent visit to BCVA congress…
” On 20th October I had the pleasure of attending the dinner, in Southport, to celebrate 50 years of BCVA.
The outgoing President, Andrew Cobner, spoke of the work his predecessors had done to get the Association to the position it currently holds in the conference hierarchy and asked us to stand for a minute’s reflection in tribute to the deceased Past Presidents. He proudly informed us that nearly £40,000 had been raised for Send A Cow during the year by means of cycle rides, raffles and other fund raising eventsThe night continued with food, drink, lots of conversation and entertainment provided by the “Mutt’s Nuts”, a group of vets with a musical bent.
There was plenty of bling on show, as is evident, and AVSPNI demonstrated that it can sit comfortably at any top table.”

AVSPNI President Seamus O’Kane attends BCVA Congress

By

A few words from Seamus O’Kane on his recent visit to BCVA congress…
” On 20th October I had the pleasure of attending the dinner, in Southport, to celebrate 50 years of BCVA.
The outgoing President, Andrew Cobner, spoke of the work his predecessors had done to get the Association to the position it currently holds in the conference hierarchy and asked us to stand for a minute’s reflection in tribute to the deceased Past Presidents. He proudly informed us that nearly £40,000 had been raised for Send A Cow during the year by means of cycle rides, raffles and other fund raising eventsThe night continued with food, drink, lots of conversation and entertainment provided by the “Mutt’s Nuts”, a group of vets with a musical bent.
There was plenty of bling on show, as is evident, and AVSPNI demonstrated that it can sit comfortably at any top table.”

Come see our bustling trade hall at conference!

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This year the demand for a space in our trade hall at conference has been astonishing!  We have 32 top quality trade companies who are looking forward to displaying their products and meeting old and new faces at AVSPNI autumn conference this weekend at the beautiful setting of the Mournes at the Slieve Donard, Newcastle.  Our conference partner this year is MSD and our conference sponsors are BCF Technology, Boehringer Ingelheim, Norbrook, vetoquinol, VSSCo, and Zoetis.

Other trade stands that will be at our conference this year include KRKA, Dechra, VSSCo, Vetoquinol, Agriapet, Elanco, Ceva, Independent Vet Care, Vestaplas, Hipra, Ulster Bank, St Francis Group, VBS Direct, Bayer, Duggan Vet Supplies, Lloyd & Cowan, Provita, Petplan, Kruuse, Abaxis, Hills, Comtag, Vet Insights, Net-ex, Shire Veterinary Insurance  and NI Veterinary Today.

We have a great trade hall this year and we know it will be a productive weekend for all!!

Individual lectures on topics of broad appeal at conference!

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Paul Crawford, a Northern Ireland Vet who won Omagh day’s ‘Frank Mullan’ Trophy for his talk on ‘Save money and the Environment – Anaesthesia’, will be lecturing on the topic of ‘Farm animal anaesthesia tips’ at conference on Sunday. After graduating from the Royal Veterinary College Paul completed his RCVS Anaesthesia Certificate. He has worked in University Teaching Hospitals in the UK, Ireland and Canada. Currently Paul is based in Northern Ireland where he provides an anaesthesia consultancy service as well as undertaking some surgical work in first opinion practice.

Catherine Forsythe, our speaker on ‘Pathology in Practice’ will be starting our Sunday morning lecture programme for L/A improvers.  She will be taking a selection of interesting and unusual post mortem cases. Catherine qualified from the RVC in 2006 and spent seven years in mixed practice before joining AFBI in 2013 as a veterinary pathologist.  Her caseload involves all species from the smallest birds to the largest sea mammals and everything in between, often in the same day.   Her main interest is in farm animal pathology, but with a large local poultry industry she is also enjoying developing her expertise in this area.

For more information and our other speakers at AVSPNI Autumn conference click here!

For a conference registration form click here!