Meetings


			THE GOAT VETERINARY SOCIETY

This website is updated as often as possible BUT you should always check the DEFRA site immediately before animal movements or vaccination.

PLEASE contact me if you find any problems with this site. Jill Clayton

MEETINGS

The Minutes of the Wincanton meeting will appear here shortly.

Informal report

First of all, VERY many thanks to all who came to our meeting this week at Wincanton. We had the largest attendance for many years, with 67 delegates in all. Thanks to, and indeed congratulations to Kat Bazeley for organising such an excellent programme, which attracted so much interest. Those of you who could not attend missed a treat consisting of excellent papers followed by lively discussions. A full report will appear in due course.

I have already had many messages one way and another to say how much the meeting had been enjoyed. The GVS has always been a meeting of friends and like minded people,and my only regret is that on the day, secretarial duties meant that I had less chance to circulate than is usually the case!.

In Committee, we have discussed the future programme, We have already booked Leicester Racecourse for May 6th 2010, and after that propose a return to Somerset in Autumn 2010, and to Yorkshire in Spring 2011. We had been considering a repeat joint meeting with the Sheep veterinary Society next year, but they are already committed to a joint meeting with BCVA in 2010, which narrows their options.

A NORWEGIAN VISITOR

We were pleased at Wincanton to welcome a final year student from Oslo University, Janne Kandal, who was also able to visit the VLA Winchester, and farms in Dorset and Devon, so many thanks to David Harwood, Tim Frost and Lesley Prior for setting aside time to show her aspects of goat medicine and production.

here should have been two students but her friend Anne dropped out at the last minute due to catching flu. They were hoping that Anne would recover sufficiently to go on the next leg of their journey, which was to the IAG conference in Brazil.

BLUETONGUE

The French have issued details of their vaccination protocol for 2010. I usually read the relevant website in French, but this looked a bit technical so I pressed the button for the official translation. It includes the following statements:- (Verbatim and as punctuated except where indicated)

You will find attached a description of the device for next year vaccination against Bluetongue.

All holders are concerned, including farmers and professionals should not ensure the containment of animals.

A protocol to override the vaccine is provided to farmers who would not, for reasons including ethical, engaged in the vaccination process.

TRANSHUMANT FARMS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE.

All animals leaving the farm should be either an insect 14 days prior to movement.....

The veterinary medical command and doses of their vaccine platform distribution standard.

Purchase of vaccines beyond March 31st 2010. It will take place in the competitive market, the state intervenes more.

OBLIGATION TO CARRY OUT VACCINATION.

Are concerned by the obligation to make the vaccine:

The Professional breeders, such as farming is conducted in a principal or accessory officials zoos, safari parks, circuses and any other place where prisoners are cattle or sheep Individuals holding one or more cattle (s) or sheep (s).

Any application for exemption you send after the closing date will receive from you a negative answer. (Edited version)

All animals collected will get a negative result in virological analysis by RT-PCR group so that exception to the requirement of vaccination may be granted.

FIREPLACE: The exemption cannot be granted if the operation is declared home FCO. It is lapsed automatically if the operation becomes home after obtaining the exception. (FCO is BTV).

All animals leaving the farm for slaughter is not subject to virological testing.

I hope these versions never become EU directives!!.

Joking apart, the French seem to have come up with a robust scheme for 2010 with strict rules on ordering the vaccine and confirming its use by veterinary surgeons. The state will pay for all vaccination done before March 31st, but not thereafter. Exemptions from vaccination can be requested either where semen or embryos are exported from the premises, or where there is some sort of ethical objection. That explains the exemptions referred to above!!. Goats will be vaccinated on a voluntary basis in the absence of a marketing authority for the vaccine.