The Fish Vet's Blog

Cute story 😄
http://io9.com/dont-ever-touch-this-fish-1698640534 ;

 
—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh 

DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. 

Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

Sent from my Sony Xperia™ smartphone

I say, medicine and science, meets “unmedicine” and “unscience”!

It’s way past April Fool’s!

Check this out.

Subject: AquaVetMed e-News: Norwegian & UK Vets Protest EU Homeopathy Regulations for Organic Farmed Fish
Sent: 26/04/2015 6:30 pm
From: “Dr. David Scarfe”
To:
Cc:

> April 26, 2015
>
> EU’s crazy homeopathy cure for Norway fish
>
>    Norwegian vets are up in arms about a “scientifically illiterate” European directive that mandates the use of homeopathic medicines as the first line of treatment for organic farmed fish. “We think it’s totally unacceptable from a scientific point of view because there’s no scientific basis for using homeopathy,” Ellef Blakstad, scientific director of the Norwegian Veterinary Association, said after calling on the country’s Food Standards Agency to delay implementing the directive.
>
>  “If you start using homeopathy, you prolong the time when the animals are not getting adequate treatment and that’s a threat to animal welfare.” Norway this year began the arduous process of bringing the 2009 European regulation on organic aquaculture into national law. The directive calls on farmers to use “substances from plants, animals or minerals in a homeopathic dilution” as the first line of treatment should farmed fish or shellfish develop health problems.
>
>  They are only allowed to resort to mainstream “allopathic” treatments a maximum of two times per year if their product is not to lose its organic certification.  Homeopathy is a field of alternative medicine which claims that diseases can be treated and prevented by using extracts of  herbs and minerals diluted to such low levels that few if any molecules of the original substance remain, due to the ‘memory’ of water.
>
>  Drawing on extensive scientific research, the Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety, has already ruled that the homeopathic medicine is ineffective in treating animals.  The ‘placebo effect’, which can make homeopathic treatments helpful simply by raising the patient’s morale, does not apply to farm animals, and certainly not to fish. 
>
>  In their official response to a consultation put out by Norway’s Food Standards Agency, the Norwegian Veterinary Association last week called on … … .
>
>  See the source (http://tinyurl.com/laewroe) for the full story
>
>  — and more –
>
>  Vets condemn EU rules which demand organic fish farms must treat any signs of illness using homeopathy
>
>  Veterinarians have criticised EU rules on organic farming that demands that fish are treated with homoeopathic remedies. In line with EU regulations, the first line of treatment for organic fish should be ‘substances from plants, animals or minerals in a homeopathic dilution.’ British and Norwegian vets have called the directives ‘scientifically illiterate’, saying that the use of homeopathy could lead to ‘serious animal health and welfare detriment.’
>
>  After this, the ‘veterinary treatments’ section outlines that farmers may use ‘plants and their extracts not having anaesthetic effects.’  As well as the directive to use homeopathic treatments, organic fish farmers are only allowed to resort to mainstream medical treatments a maximum of twice per year, or their fish will lose its organic certification.
>
>  This has been criticised by the  Norwegian Veterinary Association (NVA) as could mean that fish are not getting the correct treatment in time, causing them unnecessary suffering. ‘We think it’s totally unacceptable from a scientific point of view because there’s no scientific basis for using homeopathy,’ Ellef Blakstad, the head of the Norwegian Veterinary Association, suggested, ‘If you start using homeopathy, you prolong the time when the animals are not getting adequate treatment and that’s a threat to animal welfare.’
>
>  Farmers are only allowed to use mainstream medical treatments a twice per year, or their fish will lose its organic certification. The criticism from Norway has been echoed by the British Veterinary Association, saying use of homeopathy could lead to ‘serious animal health and welfare detriment.’ The British Veterinary Association (BVA) cannot endorse the use of homeopathic remedies, or indeed any products, making therapeutic claims, which have no proven efficacy,’ British Veterinary Association President John Blackwell told Mail Online. ‘As with any treatment for disease using medicines, BVA believes that veterinary medicinal products must be … … .
>
>  See the source (http://tinyurl.com/n9k3jdn) for the full story.
>
>  The amended EU Commission Regulation (EC 710/2009) that addresses rules for the implementation of the original EC 834/2007 regulations for organic aquaculture animal and seaweed production is accessible at http://tinyurl.com/y8zrxaw.
>
>  An important note: the US Food & Drug Administration is considering regulating human homeopathic remedies – see http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/NewsEvents/ucm430539.htm for details.  ________________________________
>
> AquaVetMed e-News provides information to veterinary and veterinary-allied subscribers concerning aquatic animal medicine, health, welfare, public health and seafood safety, obtained from a variety of sources (largely AquaVetMed subscribers). While provided by the American Veterinary Medical Association’s, Aquatic Veterinary Medicine Committee and are for public distribution, they do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the AVMA or the veterinary profession. See the AVMA Terms of Use (http://tinyurl.com/29h2rf) for further information.
>
>  Subscription and Contributions: Interested veterinarians and veterinary-allied professionals can subscribe, unsubscribe, or contribute pertinent news or information, by sending a message with “For AquaVetMed -” and the topic in the subject line, to registrations@aquavetmed.info. If e-News information is used elsewhere please acknowledge AquaVetMed as the source.  Encourage individuals to subscribe rather than distribute through list serves.
>
>  Note: Undelivered e-mails will not be resent; Subscribers will be deleted from the list after repeated undelivered or bounced messages and will have to re-subscribe. Messages may contain attachments that will have been scanned for known viruses.
>
> _____________________

For those who missed out on the (excellent 🙂 webinar I presented a few weeks ago, the recording is now available for viewing at – http://www.wavma.org/Webinars/B-1010-Water-quality-101-for-Practising-Veterinarians

Because they are licensed to krill.

Have a FINtastic week!
R <+>{

WOMEN who take the contraceptive pill aren’t the only ones not reproducing. Fish are affected too.

Read more here.

http://mobile.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/how-the-contraceptive-pill-is-influencing-fish/story-fnet0gt3-1227309339957

 
—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh 

DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. 

Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

Sent from my Sony Xperia™ smartphone

I’ve uploaded a new video on my YouTube channel for your enjoyment 🙂

http://tinyurl.com/tfv-wq

 
—
Yours sincerely,

Doctor Richmond Loh 

DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. 

Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

 
—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh 

DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology), MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV, NATA Signatory.
THE FISH VET, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. 

Mobile Aquatic Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

Sent from my Sony Xperia™ smartphone

Free WebCEPD Webinar – Improving fish welfare by changing owner behaviour (& optimising veterinary services for fish clients).

Click here to register now!

Veterinary practice involves not just treating animals, but also dealing with their owners. In this webinar we will discuss why people choose to keep fish and how this is related to public attitudes about fish. In particular, we will cover why fish owners are often reluctant to seek professional veterinary help and how this could be changed. You will learn key theories and strategies about human behaviour, and how you can evaluate, accommodate, influence and improve outcomes for you, the client, and the health and well-being of the client’s animals.

Join us for a free webinar on Thursday May 07, 2015 at 9:00 PM AWST (Perth, Western Australia, +8 GMT).

Click here to see the time in your local time zone around the world.

Speaker: Miriam Sullivan BSc (Hons), GradDip (SciComm), PhD

Learning Objectives – participants will learn:

1. That not all clients keep fish for the same reasons, and how to identify their priorities;
2. The barriers that prevent fish owners from seeking professional veterinary help;
3. The theory of Planned Behaviour necessary for providing optimal aquatic veterinary care; and
4. How to apply basic strategies for changing client attitudes and providing optimal veterinary services.

This webinar is suitable for veterinarians, vet techs/nurses, vet students and veterinary practice staff.

NOTE: this webinar will be recorded. But if are unable to attend, registrants will be e-mailed a link to view the webinar when it becomes available.

Want CEPD credit? (Registration is required)
Information on how to access the recorded webinar (at no cost), and a short knowledge & skills assessment (KSA or quiz) covering the webinar’s principle learning objectives, in order to earn veterinary Continuing Educational & Professional Development (CEPD) credit will be e-mailed to all registrants in 1-2 weeks after the webinar.

As CEPD credit can be used towards re-licensing or registration requirements to practice veterinary medicine, and requirements for becoming a WAVMA Certified Aquatic Veterinarian. We provide WAVMA Members a discount off the US$25.00 fee for earning CEPD credit ($5 for student members, $15 for all others).

Register now for this free live WAVMA WebCEPD webinar at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7249415878738689026. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

View webinar System Requirements

WAVMA Program Coordinator

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