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No government plans to review fireworks legislation
The RSPCA receives hundreds of calls every year about animals distressed by fireworks.

RSPCA renews call to restrict private use to traditional days 

The RSPCA has renewed its call for the UK Government to strengthen the existing law on fireworks and restrict their use to traditional days of the year.

The call comes as a petition to restrict private fireworks receives more than 50,000 signatures in just four days. But while there has been a surge in people adding their voices to the campaign, the Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) has told the RSPCA it has ‘no plans’ to review legislation.

RSPCA campaign manager Eloise Shavelar said: “Although the UK Government committed to looking at this issue in more detail, through the newly formed Office of Product Safety and Standards, ten months on in an official response, it has admitted it has no plans to do so. That’s despite the clear widespread public concern shown by huge numbers of people signing petitions and writing to the Government calling for change.

“We want to see the UK Government listening to people and strengthening the existing law and restricting the use of fireworks to traditional days of the year like bonfire night.”

The RSPCA says that it receives hundreds of calls every year about animals distressed by fireworks and wants to restrict private use on all but four days of the year - November 5, New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year and Diwali.

The charity also says that it would like to see the maximum permitted noise level of fireworks for public sale reduced from 120 decibels - above the human pain threshold for noise - to 97 decibels, which is likely to further reduce the stress to animals.

To date, more than 335,000 people have signed the petition, set up by the FAB Firework Abatement Campaign. A further 5,000 people have also responded to the RSPCA’s
campaign, which calls on the UK government to request a change to fireworks regulations.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards was set up in January 2018 after two Parliamentary debates about the negative impact of fireworks. Many months on, there has been little movement on the issue and the RSPCA now hopes that a debate will be arranged in Westminster to take the discussion further. 

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.