NOAH has elected its board team, as part of its annual general meeting.

Ned Flaxman, general manager at Norbrook Laboratories Ltd, retains his position as chair, which he has held since June 2023.

Caitrina Oakes (Vetoquinol) remains past chair, and Matthew Frost (Elanco) remains treasurer.

Andrew Buglass (Eco Animal Health Ltd), Oya Canbas (Zoetis) and Charlotte Covell (Virbac) are newly elected vice-chairs. Meanwhile Roy Geary (Ceva) and John Toole (Beaphar) join the NOAH Board of Management.

Dawn Howard, NOAH chief executive, said: "I congratulate all the officers and board members who have been elected or re-elected today.

"I look forward to working together to ensure that NOAH continues to deliver at the highest standard for its members."

Researchers at the University of Surrey are investigating reports of bleeding problems being seen in XL bully dogs following neutering operations.

Some XL bully owners on social media have reported their dogs experiencing problems during operations and there has been anecdotal evidence from some veterinary surgeons.

An anonymous survey has been launched for veterinary surgeons to share their experiences of performing any surgical procedures on XL bully dogs in the last 12 months.

The survey can be accessed here.

A scheme that helped owners of XL bully dogs with the cost of neutering has closed to new applications due to high demand.

The scheme, run by the RSPCA, Blue Cross, and Battersea, has helped 1,800 dogs and their owners after XL bullies were banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

In England and Wales, owners of XL bully dogs which were over one year old on 31 January 2021 have until 30 June 2024 to get their dog neutered. If a dog was between seven months and 12 months old, it must be neutered by 31 December 2024. If it was under seven months old, owners have until 30 June 2025.

More information can be found on the Defra website.

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.

The new version allows those reporting a dead bird to drop a pin on a map when reporting the location. It also includes a wider range of wild bird species groups to select from when describing the bird.

The online service, which helps APHA to monitor the spread of diseases such as avian influenza, can be accessed here.

RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development."

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.