Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.

Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Wild Welfare launches workshop in Laos
Wild Welfare worked in partnership with Free the Bears to deliver the programme.
Laos visit is first for welfare organisation.

Wild Welfare, an international animal welfare charity, has expanded its programme into Laos. The organisation launched an in-person edition of its Wild About Welfare digital education programme.

Laos is a new country of operation for Wild Welfare, and the organisation collaborated with Free the Bears, a charity that rescues bears from bear bile farms and the illegal wildlife trade to deliver the workshop.

The first workshop was held in Luang Prabang in November 2022, and the five-day course saw a mix of participants; veterinary surgeons, animal care staff and higher managers from Free the Bears and a local elephant sanctuary.

Taught in both English and spoken Lao translations, the workshop lasted for five days, and introduced participants to take part in practical tasks, including enclosure assessments for macaques and enrichment planning for different species.

Sarah Bonser-Blake, animal welfare field manager at Wild Welfare, discussed the programme: “It was quite an emotional experience for me seeing everyone really engaging with the content. There was a real sense of learning together as everyone helped each other out with explanations, translations and concepts which might be difficult to understand.”

This workshop was the first practical roll-out of the programme, and Wild Welfare will use the feedback to continue its development.

Online, the Wild About Welfare course is free-to-access on Wild Welfare's website, and it has seen use from 63 different countries since it's launch in January 2021.

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."