Reconciling Modern Animal Production Systems and Sustainability
By M Djuric, DVM A consortium of 22 research partners from 11 countries has received a ÂŁ10.6m grant from the European Union (EU) to improve pig and poultry production. This is the largest EU grant awarded in this field. The project aims at investigating ways to increase animal production quality, whilst limiting environmental impact and…
Limitations of Voluntary Plan for Phasing Out Non-Medical Antibiotic Use in Farm Animals in USA
By M Djuric, DVM The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently issued a guidance document on the use of antibiotics in farm animals. The document notes that excessive use leads to the spread of antibiotic-resistant diseases in both animals and humans. In the document, the FDA proposes that pharmaceutical companies voluntarily change some…
New ÂŁ45m Veterinary School at University of Surrey, UK â Construction to Begin
M Djuric, DVM The proposal to construct a new Veterinary School of Medicine at the Manor Park campus of the University of Surrey in Guildford, England, UK has been given planning permission by the Guildford Borough Council. This will be one of eight of veterinary schools in the UK. The new Veterinary school will consist…
Farm Animal Welfare Moves Up Business Agenda
By Miroslav Djuric, DVM, CAB International The second report of the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare has been published with the expertise and support of animal welfare organisations, Compassion in World Farming (CWF) and World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA). 70 companies from across Europe and the USA were assessed, representing…
Guilt free chocolate anyone?
According to the BMJ this week, the average half life of a chocolate in a busy hospital ward is 51 minutes with some brands lasting longer than others. They last rather longer in my quieter office but still we have eaten a few in the run up to Christmas. What if the food industry could…
The urgent need for evidence based policy in invasive species management
Hundreds of invasive species experts gathered last week, 23-27 October, in Qingdao China at the 2nd International Congress on Biological Invasions. High on the agenda was how policy makers can respond to the accelerating risk posed by invasive species as international trade increases and climate change opens up new opportunities for invasion. In a session…
Climate change and extreme weather
Image from BBC News images As we have read in the news this morning, the weather system named St Jude's storm swept in from the Atlantic and hit the Southern part of the UK today, with winds gusting up to 99 mph (The Guardian online) and causing a lot of damage, including widespread travel disruption…
Warming in the climate system is unequivocal – IPCC Fifth Assessment Report on Climate Change
The much anticipated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report on Climate Change was released today. In fact, what was released is the summary report for policymakers, which was produced by the IPCCâs Working Group I, and aimed to present the findings as clearly as possible. The full report will be released in…
New urban invasives report launched with CABI contributions
Highly invasive Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) growing in High Wycombe, UK Contributed by Esther Gerber, CABI Switzerland Last week in Gland, Switzerland, a meeting was held on the threat of urban ecosystems titled âInvasive Alien species: the Urban Dimension.â During the meeting, a representative of the European Commission announced a series of upcoming…
One of our invasive species in the mainstream media
Picture: ©MusĂ©um de Toulouse/Didier Descouens-2013. CC BY-SA 3.0 Some of the species that are included in our open-access Invasive Species Compendium are well known to the general public, for example Japanese Knotweed. Others are more obscure, and I had never heard of the Asian Hornet, Vespa velutina, until I edited the datasheet about it earlier…