Author Archives: Alison German

‘Mac’ Johnston receives Blue Cross Award at BEVA Congress

The British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Welfare Award 2013, sponsored by Blue Cross, has been presented to Professor AM ‘Mac’ Johnston in recognition of his long-standing commitment to mentoring and supporting vets working in the remote Scottish Highlands, helping to improve the welfare of horses in the region.

Professor AM ‘Mac’ Johnston receives The Blue Cross Equine Welfare Award from Blue Cross Director of External Affairs, Steve Goody. Photo credit: David Boughey.

Mac Johnston was a lecturer in equine medicine at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) for many years. Living in the Scottish Highlands and commuting to the RVC in London, Mac provided much needed expert help to local people and vets. Since retiring, he has continued to share his knowledge and guidance by working in the community mentoring younger vets and dealing with difficult cases. Mac is a widely published author and a renowned authority in public health.

The award, which was introduced by BEVA in conjunction with the leading pet charity in 2000, is a formal recognition of significant contributions made by veterinary surgeons and others to horse welfare. It was presented to Professor Johnston at the 52nd BEVA Annual Congress in Liverpool on Thursday 12th September 2013 by Blue Cross Director of External Affairs, Steve Goody.

Steve said: “Mac Johnston has shown unparalleled commitment to the support and advancement of horse veterinary education and welfare, both at local and national levels. His tireless endeavour makes him a very worthy recipient of this award. I have great pleasure in presenting it and offer many congratulations.”

Blue Cross has been dedicated to helping sick, injured and abandoned pets for over 100 years. It opened the world’s first animal hospital in 1906 to care for working horses on the streets of London and since then its doors have never closed to sick and homeless animals. Funded entirely by public donations, today the charity rehabilitates and rehomes over a hundred horses and ponies every year at its horse centres in Burford (Oxon) and Rolleston-on-Dove (Staffordshire).

Student Veterinary Nurses To Have Voting Rights

Louisa Baker, President of the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA), has announced a change to the voting rights for student veterinary nurses.

The BVNA Council made the decision following extensive research into voting rights across the veterinary associations. The decision means that student BVNA memebers will now be able to vote at the BVNA Annual General Meeting, nominate and vote for those full members standing for election onto BVNA Council.

Red Panda cubs born at Colchester Zoo for the first time in 14 years!

Colchester Zoo is excited to report that the 20th June 2013 saw the birth of two red panda cubs; the first red panda birth for Colchester Zoo in 14 years!Colchester Zoo’s keepers hadn’t witnessed any mating, so the first time they were aware of the new arrivals was when the cubs were seen through the hatch of the nest box. As time progressed, Liwei moved the cubs between the three nest boxes within the enclosure. This is normal behaviour as, in the wild, females move their young to different nesting areas to ensure their scent does not stay around long enough for predators to become interested and to reduce the risk of tics and mites. The keepers first spotted the cubs out of the nest box on the 5th September, when Liwei brought the cubs out to explore the enclosure. The cubs are yet to be sexed and named.
Colchester Zoo’s adult pair of pandas, male An An and female Liwei, were first mixed together in October 2012 but Liwei only reached sexual maturity at the beginning of 2013. Colchester Zoo successfully bred red pandas back in the late 1990s, with four cubs born between 1996 and 1999. To further add to the story, An An, was the son of a red panda previously held at Colchester Zoo, called Rusco, who left the collection in 2005 for Warsaw Zoo.

The red panda is from Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, southern China and north-eastern India. They live in temperate forests and are generally found at altitudes up to 4,800m. Their diet consists of mainly bamboo, yet also includes fruit, roots, succulent grasses, acorns, lichens, bird eggs, insects, and grubs. Red pandas typically give birth to between 1-4 cubs, which are born fully furred and grey in colour, developing red fur at 2-3weeks. Red pandas are nocturnal, mainly active at dawn and dusk, spending most of the day resting in the trees. In the wild, red pandas are classed as vulnerable. They are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, and the effects of inbreeding.

Colchester Zoo is very pleased to be able to contribute to the European endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP) for this species once again and hopes for more success in the future.

AAT Exam Success for First Batch of Students

We are delighted that our first intake of Level 4 accountancy students achieved a 100% pass rate in their July exams.

Achieving such a pass rate is a fantastic achievement for both students and staff and reflects the hard work and dedication of all involved.

Emma Helkenberg, Senior Lecturer at CAW Business School, said ‘We are very proud of all of our students on their recent success. They have demonstrated the passion and commitment to excel and their results are very well deserved’. She continued ‘We wish them well with the rest of the programme and the future’.

Find out more about our accountancy programmes.

NPL Server Error

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons have informed us that some users of the Veterinary Nursing NPL may be experiencing a ‘Server Error’ message as below:

SkillWise are working to fix this and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

New Function for CC’s/Tutors on NPL

Skillwise have recently added a new function to the Nursing Progress Log (NPL). This is the “student activity log”. It will show a list of the 5 most recent activities from the selected student. This will be activity since your last log in.

You can click through from this list to check the activity. To remove it from the list click “delete” in the right hand column. This keeps the log up-to-date.

This function quickly and easily allows you to check a student’s progress without clicking into individual units – particularly helpful for tutorial planning.

We hope you find this useful. Our QAS team also has this function. Please feel free to contact them for any further advice.

Standards Launched for Online Pet Sales

The Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) has exposed a shocking report containing the UK’s worst online pet adverts in which their research revealed appalling findings that included adverts for underage puppies, an illegal pitbull puppy, a cat in need of veterinary treatment, marmoset monkeys and even an arctic fox.

Reporting examples also see some unscrupulous advertisers offering to swap animals for mobile phones, watches or different breeds.

“The research undertaken by the PAAG has revealed some truly terrible examples where animal welfare was clearly the last thought in the mind of the advertiser,” said Clarissa Baldwin, chairman of PAAG.

Following these findings PAAG, which is made up of representatives from welfare charities and specialist agencies has published a set of minimum standards which are backed by Defra to help to improve the welfare of pets and ensure members of the public avoid the risk of buying sick, dangerous or even illegal animals.

To find out more information visit the MRCVS website.

Student Trips to BVNA Congress – Saturday 12 October 2013

The British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) Congress in Telford is fast approaching (11-13 October 2013). If you haven’t been before, the Congress has a wide range of lectures taking place over five streams, as well as a large exhibition hall giving you the chance to catch up with new products and developments!

This year, the BVNA are offering student veterinary nurses the opportunity to attend the Congress for a day at a discounted rate of £30 when booked via college as a group visit. A saving of up to £135 per person!

The College of Animal Welfare will subsidise the transport costs for a minibus/coach from each centre, provided there are at least 13 students that want to go on Saturday 12 October. This will make the total cost of the trip £40 per student (£30 for the ticket and £10 for transport costs).

This excellent offer is only available if there is enough interest at your centre. If you would like to attend, please reply to the email which you will receive today with your name and CAW centre details (or email marketing@caw.ac.uk) as soon as possible, but no later than Wednesday 11 September.

After this, you will be contacted regarding payment which must be received by the College no later than Monday 16 September.

NPL Completion Deadline Approaching

If you are planning on sitting the RCVS Veterinary Nursing Practical (OSCE) Exams this winter, please remember your Nursing Progress Log (NPL) must be complete by 23 September 2013.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact your Quality Assurance Supervisor (QAS).

Korean Education Mission Visits CAW Huntingdon!

A team from the Korea Employment Information Service (KEIS) visited The College of Animal Welfare on 4 September 2013, on a fact finding mission to learn about veterinary nursing in the UK.

From left to right are Mark Hedberg, Short Course Manager (CAW), Yang Jeong-Yeol, General Director (KEIS), Dr Kim Gyun, Associate Research Fellow (KEIS), Dr Kim Dongkyu, Research Fellow (KEIS), Barbara Cooper, Principal (CAW), and Leslie Heaton-Smith, Marketing and Development Director (CAW).

The KEIS team is investigating vocational training and employment opportunities to improve the South Korean economy. CAW would like to wish them all the best in their remaining time in the United Kingdom, and continued success for their mission!