Animal Health and Welfare

Today was spent in the office department of Animal Health.
I watched the AMLs being put on the computer database so that the department has a record of each movement. Each AML takes about 3 days to come through from when the movement was performed and they are each kept and filled for reference. This has enabled me to see the animal movement process from beginning to end, and I now realise its real importance in disease prevention and management.

I also discussed with the Senior animal Health Inspector about the Animal Welfare Regulations 2006 and the Welfare of farmed animals 2007, both of which are important from a veterinary point of view. After discussing these I was shown a number of videos of cases that occurred, and we discussed the issues that arose from each one, which I found very interesting. One case involved a hobble, which is a device, with straps attached onto each back leg and linked by a chain. This helps to provide support for a cow which has a weak pelvis or other muscular defect, which prevents them from slipping and ending up doing the splits which can be dangerous for the animal. The hobble chain had broken and the strapping was digging into the leg of the cow and had rubbed through the skin, through the muscle and the Achilles tendon leaving the bone visible with the animal clearly in pain and lame. Appropriate action was then taken.

We also discussed the By-Products law which acts to ensure that dead animals are removed from a farm or holding area as soon as is reasonably achievable, and are not buried or incinerated on site- instead at a registered site which will do this which is something that I was already aware of from my period lambing at Shipley.

Simply by talking to the inspectors I now know the full process that occurs, from a initial complaint, the inspection and then the action taken with the possibility of a court case.
I have also learnt how the Inspectors rely on the DEFRA vets to help them in their cases as they are not veterinary professionals. They therefore work closely with these vets and often use them as professional witnesses to back up statements regarding the welfare and possible suffering of animals which have been brought to the attention of the Inspectors.
I noticed today as well as my other days with the department, the importance of making note of everything significant that happens throughout the day. This allows the Inspectors to have a record of what occurred during the day so that there is evidence that a action was performed. For example if, 3 weeks down the line, it becomes apparent that a number of the sheep which had been seen by the Inspector at the mart have a disease, the inspector will have a note of this, and be able to say he looked at the sheep and no disease symptoms were noticed. This would either mean that the animals had the disease but were not showing signs, or that the disease was not contracted until after the mart that the inspector was at. This would allow the location that the disease was contracted in to be identified.

Having seen the work that the inspectors do, I feel that being a vet on this side of the profession is something that would really interest me, and, I hope to be able to get some further experience with the Health Inspectors or DEFRA vets in the future.