News

Norfolk, Va. - The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is investigating how members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) handle euthanasia drugs.

Washington - Experts in disease surveillance and animal health monitoring are recipients of the 2007 Karl F. Meyer-James H. Steele Gold Head Cane Award.

Blacksburg, Va. - More horse owners are choosing to have elective surgeries performed on their animals than they did a decade ago at Virginia Tech's Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center.

Avian flu may be a risk to some veterinarians, but it's not among the most common daily hazards that all DVMs and their employees face.

Schaumburg, Ill. - Medical rates for the American Veterinary Medical Association's Group Health Life and Insurance Trust (GHLIT) climbed 9.6 percent during the last six-month time period.

Fortcollins, Colo.-While about three quarters of equine operations vaccinated their horses in 2005,veterinarians performed the task on just half of those farms.

Brussels, Belgium - The European Union Commission is funding a study to determine whether animal bonemeal should be allowed back into the diet of farm animals for the first time since a 2000 ban was implemented in response to an incurable disease that attacks the brain.

Raleigh, N.C. - A 20-year, $500 million project kicks off at North Carolina State University (NC State) in November with groundbreaking for a $12 million research building and subsequent construction of a 115,000-square-foot animal hospital.

Brooklyn, N.Y. - Pet owners too busy to take their animals to a veterinary clinic may have thought they'd found the perfect solution: A "veterinarian" who made house calls, offering to pick up ailing cats and dogs and return them after treatment.

Pomona, Calif. - Philip Nelson, DVM, PhD, takes the reins of Western University of Health Sciences' (WesternU) fledgling veterinary medical college, replacing Dr. Shirley Johnston, the program's founding dean.

Indianapolis - Eli Lilly and Co. announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Ivy Animal Health Inc., an applied-research and pharmaceutical- product development company focused on the animal-health industry.

Washington - After a risk evaluation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is amending its regulations to add the Mexi can state of Nayarit to the list of regions considered to be free of classical swine fever (CSF).

Topeka, Kan. - A Kansas veterinarian was sentenced to seven years in prison last month for securities fraud after swindling $1 million from investors in his phony cattle embryo business.

Langhorne, Pa. - Velcera Inc. inked a global licensing agreement with Nov-artis Animal Health to develop, register and commercialize a canine product using Velcera's patented oral mucosal drug-delivery technology.

Excessive use of corticosteroids has been reported to induce liver disease in the horse.

Schaumburg, Ill., and Overland Park, Kan. - The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and Fort Dodge Animal Health launched a national pet-wellness educational campaign, aimed at raising awareness of disease risks to pets and their prevention.

Washington - The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is working to establish a voluntary trichinae-certification program for U.S. pork.

Dechra Veterinary Products announced that it has secured a long-term trademark license and supply agreement with Pharmaderm Animal Health, part of the U.S. commercial division of Altana Inc.

Brea, Calif. - Skin allergies are the No. 1 reason dogs are taken to a veterinarian.

The delivery of veterinary care can be every bit as good as that of human medicine, says Diane Levitan, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM.

Seattle - Record-breaking attendance and creative sessions - including team-building strategies and a pet-food-recall panel - marked the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine's (ACVIM) 25th Forum.

TRENTON, N.J. - A pending New Jersey bill allowing pet owners to seek loss-of-companionship damages for animals killed or injured by contaminated feed could be a steppingstone to veterinarian vulnerability to similar claims, a veterinary organization warns.

Topeka, Kan. - Veterinarians remain vulnerable to consumer complaints and lawsuits despite legislative efforts in Kansas to exempt health-care professionals.

Topeka, Kan. - 6/29/07 - A scholarship for one year of tuition was awarded to an Oregon State University student, chosen as the winner of a Hill's Pet Nutrition-sponsored contest.

Firstline June 2007 BPA Statement

St. Kitts, Virgin Islands - 6/28/07 - Tuffts veterinary school is now a clinical training affiliate for Ross University veterinary students.

Springfield, Mo. - 6/21/07 - Almost 200 cats were euthanized, and the remainder quarantined at the Southwest Missouri Humane Society (SMHS) after a suspected outbreak of the fast-spreading calicivirus.

Mississippi State, Miss. - 6/19/07 - A $10,000 pledge - offered as a gift from the class of 2010 - sets a new precedent of generous giving to a Mississippi State University fund supporting the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), officials say.

Check here for updates on the pet-food debacle ... UPDATED 6/18/07!

Davis, Calif. - 6/15/07 - A $420,750 grant over three years will fund a new position for an extension veterinarian in shelter medicine - believed a first for the United States.