NZVJ preview

Absent but present

Andrew Bates, Scientific Editor of the New Zealand Veterinary Journal, introduces us to a special issue post the cancellation of the WVAC.

THIS MONTH’S ISSUE of the NZVJ focuses on the 36th World Veterinary Association Congress (WVAC), which was planned for Auckland in April 2020.

Some of the congress’s international and national experts, covering clinical veterinary medicine, veterinary public health, animal welfare and academic research, were invited to produce review articles for this issue. They’re introduced in a guest editorial by David Senior, Chair of the WVAC Scientific Programme Committee.

The first article, from Neil Sargison, of The University of Edinburgh Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, outlines the crucial role of individually tailored animal health plans in improving the productivity of small ruminant farming systems. These systems can be major drivers of food production in many developing countries, and increasing production efficiency can have far-reaching societal and environmental benefits. Using parasitism control as an example, he suggests that effective engagement in, and delivery of, sustainable production goals can be achieved by adopting planned approaches to animal health, nutrition and welfare.

John Mee and Laura Boyle, of the Teagasc Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre at Moorepark, Ireland, provide a comparative assessment of the welfare of dairy cows in pasture-based versus confinementbased systems. Looking at disease, the expression of natural behaviours and the animals’ affective states they argue that access to pasture is essential if animals are to have positive emotions and lives worth living.

David Mellor, formerly from Massey University’s School of Veterinary Science, and Martin Burns, from New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing (NZTR), describe the development of NZTR’s Thoroughbred welfare assessment programme. Based on the Five Domains model, the programme considers the nutritional, health, behavioural and environmental aspects of welfare in conjunction with an assessment of positive and negative affective states. Guidelines aimed at all stages of a Thoroughbred’s life have been developed and expressed in a practical and usable framework for people.

In a review of the role of physical therapy after orthopaedic surgery in companion animals, Wendy Baltzer, from Massey University’s School of Veterinary Science, discusses how it can improve the rate and extent of recovery. She covers the benefits of a range of physical therapy techniques, drawing on a wide range of sources including recently published work on the effects of physical therapy on recovery in companion animals, medical literature using companion animals as experimental models, and comparative studies from the human field. She also provides general guidelines and tips on how to use different techniques, making this a valuable resource for the companion animal practitioner.

Richmond Loh, from an ornamental fish specialty practice in Australia, describes the barriers and potential advantages to veterinary involvement in the care of ornamental fish. Factors such as the low intrinsic value of many individual fish and a lack of veterinary education in this area contribute to a climate where ornamental fish owners frequently refer to pet shops, lay specialists or the internet for advice. Richmond discusses the need for additional training in the already crowded veterinary curriculum, with one solution being more postgraduate training for interested veterinarians.

A second practitioner review comes from Chris Pearce, a private equine dental specialist in the UK. Chris outlines some recent advances that are leading to a revolution in the quality of treatment and understanding of prophylaxis in equine dental management. Starting with some new findings from anatomical research, he discusses routine dental maintenance, periodontal disease, dental extractions and restorative and endodontic dentistry. For anyone who has ever been on the wrong end of a tooth rasp, this paper is a revelation and inspiration.

In addition to these congress papers, the May issue also features articles on sedation in miniature donkeys, the effect of nematode infection on beef productivity and a study looking at the prophylaxis from vitamin A, D and E injection during pregnancy on sheep vaginal prolapse.

To accompany this print issue, the WVAC reviews have been collected into a virtual special issue, which can be accessed on the NZVJ website at www.

tandfonline.com/toc/tnzv20/current

(select the link under journal news).

Members of the NZVA can access any articles published in the NZVJ by logging in to SciQuest (www.sciquest.org.nz). More information about the NZVJ can be found at www.vetjournal.org.nz. You can contact the editors at nzvj@vets.org.nz.