Opinion and Comment
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 GIVEN the complexity of the subject and differences in attitudes and approach, devising a strategy to help improve animal welfare across the European Union is an ambitious undertaking, but the European Commission has attempted to do just that. A communication on an EU Strategy for the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2012-2015, which was adopted by the European Commission last week (see p 87 of this issue) has already attracted criticism, with animal welfare groups describing it as lacking in ambition and a missed opportunity. Others, including farmers, have welcomed the strategy, which, it could be argued, presents a pragmatic approach that offers real opportunities for improvement in the future. One only has to look at some of the issues surrounding implementation of EU legislation banning battery cages for laying hens to see the kinds of problem that can arise in this notoriously difficult field.
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 Dr. Amy Kapatkin discusses the signs, symptoms and treatments for hip dysplasia in pets.
Hip dysplasia is a familiar term for the pet-owning public, even if they haven’t experienced it directly with their own pets. But what exactly is hip dysplasia?
In this podcast, Dr. Amy Kapatkin, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, talks about this condition in pets.
Listen to the podcast ...
Dear colleagues and friends of the WVA,
 First I would like to wish all veterinarians, partners and friends, the best Seasonal Greetings and a Prosperous and Happy New Year 2012.
Year 2012 promises important objectives and actions in the life of the WVA that will continue to promote professional development of the global veterinary profession which will celebrate its 150th anniversary next year.
During 2011, 3 main achievements were completed: Declaration of the Global eradication of Rinderpest, celebration of VET 2011 commemorating the 250th anniversary of the creation of the oldest veterinary school in the world founded in 1761, in Lyon, and finally the successful organization of the 30th World Veterinary Congress and the first global Veterinary Summit in Cape Town, South Africa.
WVA was very involved in VET 2011, as well as in multiple national, regional and local associations and specialist groups. WVA was very active in three celebrations: the opening of Vet2011 in January in Versailles; the global Conference on Veterinary Education in May in Lyon and the closing ceremony during the World Veterinary Congress in October in Cape Town.
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  Foot and mouth disease (FMD) remains one of the world’s most widespread epizootic animal diseases. More than 100 countries are not yet recognized as officially free of FMD by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
FMD is a disease of large domestic and wild animals. While it does not cause the same heavy mortalities as other epizootics, it generates significant economic losses worldwide, in particular by sharply reducing milk and meat production in infected farms. Most affected animals fail to return to normal productivity even when cured. Furthermore FMD also deprives infected countries of valuable export opportunities for many of the animal products that could potentially be sold in lucrative markets.
Even when, at great expense, countries have rid themselves of FMD and been accorded official FMD-free status by the OIE, they remain under constant threat of it being accidentally or intentionally reintroduced and so are obliged to maintain costly systems of border protection and nationwide continuous field surveillance.
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THERE have been some important developments and significant anniversaries over the past 12 months. Ultimately, however, 2011 will probably be best remembered as the year in which the world was officially declared to be free of rinderpest. Rinderpest, also known as cattle plague, has been a scourge of livestock and the people who depend on them for thousands of years, and has changed the course of history on more than one occasion. It is the first disease of animals to have been eradicated through human effort and, after smallpox, only the second disease to have been eradicated worldwide. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) adopted a resolution declaring that the world was free of rinderpest on May 25 and eradication was confirmed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at the end of June.
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Comment
A RECENT report on economics and farm animal welfare from the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC)* is timely, and not just because it comes at a time when all talk is of austerity and the uncertain state of the economy is high in most people's minds. Animal welfare can lose out when times are hard, and every effort must be made to prevent this. However, the FAWC discusses the relationship between economics and farm animal welfare in much broader terms than this and there are a number of other things going on at the moment that make the report particularly relevant.
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Why is it important for celebrities to speak on behalf of animal welfare?
Moby, the musician and singer, chats with FAOcast about his views on the welfare of animals and the planet.
Watch the Moby FAOcast ...
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Dr. Lisa Walker recently returned from Afghanistan where she served as a military veterinarian.
When talking about veterinarians, we try to avoid the term "vets" to avoid any confusion with the term "veterans." Dr. Lisa Walker is a vet in both senses of the word. Dr. Walker is an emergency room veterinarian at Ann Arbor Animal Hospital in Ann Arbor, Mich., and she recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan, where she served as a veterinarian through the U.S. Army Reserves.
In this podcast, Dr. Walker discusses her role overseas, and the larger role veterinarians play in the U.S. military.
Listen to the podcast ...
MENTION the words ‘European legislation’ and most people's eyes glaze over. This is unfortunate, because decisions made in Europe are important. For all the huffing and puffing that goes on in Westminster, it is often in Brussels that the real decisions are made, with much of the activity in Westminster being devoted to deciding how to translate those decisions into UK law. This is particularly true with regard to decisions relating to animal health and welfare, because of the importance attached to agriculture when the European Community was founded and its continuing significance to development of the single European market.
In this context, a recent strategy document from the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE) is noteworthy. Representing 46 national organisations, and with a collective membership of 200,000 vets from all over Europe, the FVE represents the veterinary profession at EU level. With the EU currently in the process of revising a whole raft of legislation relating to animal health as well as updating veterinary medicines legislation, the document, which sets out the FVE's strategy for the next five years, could hardly be more timely.*
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