Badgering the government

I very much appreciate the widely held concern about the fall in wholesale milk prices and 
the poor returns that dairy farmers are able to achieve in the current market.

Add to this the on-going difficulties with TB control and the farce of the badger culls, and we 
have a beleaguered industry in quite a state of crisis.



Milk is a great source of energy, protein and calcium if you don't have anything else to eat. And a cow is a great way of converting vegetation that is relatively indigestible for humans 
into a steady supply of such nourishment. It's also mobile and fresh,  which is especially 
useful when you don't have a fridge. 

But the above have limited value in our society and I can't help noticing that our shops are 
now full of skimmed, low fat or even non-dairy dairy products, partly because many of the 
base constituents of milk are actually quite bad for us as adults, especially given the relativeabundance of other food types.

Is the elephant in the room not the issue that we all consume far too many dairy products 
anyway and that the industry is therefore bigger than either our economy, health or 
environment can sustain?
 
Last time I checked, I was weaned when I was about six months old.

Rabies, Tollwut, Rabia, even Rabbia, it's all the Rage

We're lucky in the UK in that we don't have rabies to contend with. Unless you're a Daubenton's bat, in which case you apparently have a 10 in 12,000 chance of having the rabies-like European Bat Lyssa Virus.

The last recorded death from handling an infected bat in the UK was in 2002, so we effectively don't have rabies, and yet most of us really don't realise just how lucky that makes us.

As animal lovers, if we come across an unknown dog or cat, our concerns mostly centre on whether we're going to get to say hello properly, or whether they'll try to avoid us.

We don't have to worry about whether there's a risk of an unprovoked and uncharacteristic attack that could give us a fatal illness (rabies), which is how it is in many other parts of the world. In fact, world wide about 100 children die of rabies every single day.

Hence the Mission Rabies campaign, actively supported by our colleagues at Davies Veterinary Specialists.

It might seem as if rabies is a far distant problem, but just across the water in France it's a different story. In fact most years they have a case or outbreak and this year is no exception.

Last month, a seven month old puppy that had initially been illegally imported into France from Hungary without identification or vaccination, was then taken to Algeria where he escaped, but was eventually found again and brought back to France.

Once there, he had contact with numerous people, several of whom he bit and was finally taken to the vet who correctly suspected rabies. He was placed under quarantine but died overnight.

The standard regulation zone that has to be set up around a rabies incident restricts the movement of all cats, dogs and other carnivores and any unvaccinated animals simply have to be euthanased.

So... if you're going abroad, remember rabies vaccination for pets is essential, particularly if you want to bring them back to the UK. Back in the day when we used to have to blood test them all, as many as 1 in 20 used to fail after the first vaccination, so although the law does not require it, you might want to ask your vet to take the blood test anyway.

It's better than rabies.

"Shock figures reveal the menace of out of control dogs"

"Shock figures reveal the menace of out of control dogs" was today's front page headline in the Evening Standard.

And then, later in the same article it says "the number of dangerous dogs seized by police fell from a peak in 2009/2010.."

So less out of control than 5 years ago, then?

And this in the context of a headline from the same august journal almost exactly a year ago (11 May 2014), which said "Huge rise in number of dangerous dogs seized, figures show".

But still less than in 2009/10. You've lost me now.

Boxing clever when you have pets

Boredom.

Not something I have a great deal of time for, I have to admit, but I wouldn't mind, now and again, to be able to sit staring at the wall, going errr.....

But for many urban pets, boredom can be quite an issue. It's OK if your canine or feline boredom threshold is very high and a lack of anything immediate to do triggers rapid onset of a deep and satisfying sleep, but if not, there lies trouble ahead.

Bored dogs pine, bark, chew and destroy. Cats over-groom and stress themselves into cystitis, and most pets will be more likely to over-eat and stack on the weight. Not a good combination.

The curiously-named Temple Grandin, quite apart from being famous for her autism, is one of the great animal behaviour gurus, and amongst many other things, loves cardboard boxes and paper bags. And this is why:

- They are cheap, easily available and destructible, and are great for environmental enhancement for pets. Try these: 

- Use paper bags to hide small bits of dry food or treats so they have to work a bit for their next snack.

- Cardboard kitchen or toilet roll inners can have food held in place by a piece of scrunched up paper at each end.

- Use sheets of cardboard to hide the sight of something scary such as a neighbouring predator cat.

- Hide food treats amongst scrunched up paper in a cardboard box

- Cardboard boxes are great to get into and out of, hid in, pounce out of or sleep safely in.

Hiding places are particularly important for our pet 'prey species' so make them simple and easily replaceable hideaways. Bunnies and guinea pigs really don't like a high visibility lifestyle.

And if you find yourself with enough time to be staring at the wall, check out Temple's Ted Talk

Seals of Approval

As we make our weary ways to and from work in the busy, polluted and often dangerous (for those of us who cycle) streets of London, it's easy to forget that we are surrounded by wildlife.

The birds, the bees and urban boxes might be more obvious, but The Zoological Society of London report that the seal population of London is on the rise.

They're in the Thames, obviously, but numbers counted have risen from a previous level of 685 to last years figure of 938. And they've been spotted as high up the river as Teddington Lock.

Find more about the ZSL seal survey work

And if you want to make your garden or terrace more wildlife friendly, try these top tips:

1. feed the birds
2. provide water for them to drink and bathe
3. grow stuff, ideally native species with flowers. We need to be especially nice to the bees
4. avoid garden chemicals
5. plant a tree. If you don't have space, join one of the schemes that will do it for you elsewhere
6. let your garden get a bit untidy  - don't weed too much

Now you don't need to do a Joanna Lumley and invite the foxes into your front room, but for the hardcore, you could do worse than joining the London Natural History Society

The Hyde Park Vets Summer Dog Show June 24th 2015!!!!

Every year for the last few years, coinciding with the Connaught Street Summer Fair when the street is closed to traffic, the vet clinic has held a dog show. 

White picket fencing, red carpet, prizes, celebrity judges and loads of dogs with proud owners prancing up and down the runway... Check out the photo gallery of the 2014 Dog Show  with celebrity judges Jennifer Saunders and Claudia Winkleman




And this year, with Sara Cox and Scott Mills as part of our celebrity judging team, it could be you on show!

But before we go any further, click here for your Dog Show entry form

Apart from being a piece of urban madness, we do it for charity. In the past we've raised money for The Mayhew Animal Home, The Street Animals of Morocco and The Cinammon Trust.

This year it's all in aid of Pets As Therapy a national charity that provides therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes, special needs schools and a variety of other venues by volunteers with their own friendly, temperament tested and vaccinated dogs and cats. There are currently around 4,500 active PAT visiting dogs and 108 PAT cats at work in the UK. Every week these calm friendly dogs and cats give more than 130,000 people, both young and old, the pleasure and chance to cuddle and talk to them. They visit a staggering half million bedsides each year.

Even better, our opposite neighbours Carter Jonas have offered yet again to match every penny of the first £1500 we raise - so roll up, roll up, every ten pounds you donate costs an estate agent a tenner.

It doesn't get better than that.

Mark the day in your diary. Wednesday 24th June, 4-6pm

Be there!

Can I get a disease from being scratched by my cat?

Can't help noticing that AOL - for some reason best known to itself - has chosen to feature a piece on Cat Scratch Fever this morning.

Always love a good scare story.

So what it's all about?

Cat scratch disease is an infection caused by a bug called Bartonella henselae that can be carried by cats. But dog and monkey bites, pins pricks, thorns, splinters, ticks and human to human contact have all also been suspected as sources of infection, so it's a bit harsh to blame it all on the cats... 

Signs of  infection are redness or swelling around a skin wound a few days after the injury, followed by swollen local lymph glands and in many cases a fever, headache and a general feeling of being unwell. 

If in doubt you're best to see your doctor: treatment is likely to be a simple anti-inflammatory medication and sometimes antibiotics.

Cat scratch disease is nothing new - it's been around for years and we see it VERY rarely, so no need to panic

General advice for animal owners is quoted as:

• keep your cats free of fleas (but that's a good idea anyway).
• try to avoid getting bitten or scratched by your cats, and especially by kittens (also a good idea). 
• If you do get bitten or scratched, wash the wound straight away (hmm, also a good idea)
• don't let your cats lick any open wounds you might have (you know this, surely).
• if you feel unwell, go to see your doctor (but that's quite good advice under any circumstances)
• err that's it