BCVA Winter Conference Preview
UK - The British Cattle Veterinary Association (BCVA) winter meeting, this year to be held on Thursday 11 February 2010, will focus on the welfare of dairy cows on UK farms.
15 January 2010
1 minute read
With recent reports from the RSPCA and FAWC, industry bodies acknowledge the situation is less than perfect but equally that livestock in this country has never been accommodated and cared for better.
So what is the real situation? Are our farm animal vets protecting the welfare of our nation's cattle along with their health or are they guilty of a blinkered approach in their quest to maximise productivity and profitability? The initial session of this year's winter meeting will see speakers from DairyCo, EBLEX and the NFU examining the particular issues facing dairy farmers, beef farmers and youngstock rearers. Following this, during the second session, how nutrition, environment and the milking machine impact animal welfare and how these can be managed to the benefit of our livestock will be discussed by industry experts in these fields.
The final session of the day, of perhaps more immediate relevance on daily rounds for the 'average' cattle vet in practice will be a discussion of the many and varied welfare problems which can arise around calving, an update on the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of downer cows and then a review of emergency slaughter and how to comply with new legislation.
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