Santa Monica Votes To Draft Ordinance On Declaw BanSeptember 23, 2009 The Santa Monica City Council voted Sept. 22 to draft an ordinance that would ban declawing in the city. It passed with a 5-1 vote. The motion was brought by City Council Members Kevin McKeown and Gleam Davis, who requested that the ordinance, if passed, be enacted before Dec. 31 since Senate Bill 762 takes effect Jan. 1. SB 762 was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on July 2, and in short, will not allow cities and counties to pass ordinances to ban medical procedures. The legislation, supported by the California Veterinary Medical Association, was in response to West Hollywood’s ban on the procedure, which the city passed in 2003. The CVMA contends that there should be a statewide uniformity of standards for medical professionals. Groups such as The Paw Project claim that declawing causes crippling effects and in the end provides no therapeutic benefit for the animal or cat owner. The anti-declawing organization recently unveiled a new billboard in West Hollywood as part of a campaign to make “people realize that declawing is inhumane and should be illegal.” The billboard, which may soon be displayed in other cities, depicts a human hand …
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New Online Microchip Tool Aims To Help Reunite Lost Pets With OwnersSeptember 22, 2009 The American Animal Hospital Association reported Sept. 22 that it has created the AAHA Universal Pet Microchip Lookup Tool. The free Internet-based resource is designed to help veterinary hospitals, animal control facilities and shelter staff members reunite lost pets with their owners by checking participating pet recovery services’ registries to determine which registry should be contacted. Participating companies include the American Kennel Club Companion Animal Recovery, HomeAgain by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, Petlink by Datamars and resQ by Bayer Animal Health. Although Jason Merrihew, communications coordinator at AAHA, said that he can’t comment on individual companies that have not yet agreed to participate, he did say that more companies are anticipated to come on board within the next couple of weeks. “We’ve had amazing collaboration with the participating companies, but the tool is still a work in progress,” Merrihew said. This means that AAHA will seek continued collaboration from microchip companies as well as implement feedback derived from veterinary hospitals, animal control facilities and shelter staff members. AAHA has been working with microchipping and pet recovery industry leaders for about a year to get the tool up and running, said …
New Benchmarking Tools Available For Referral PracticesSeptember 22, 2009 The National Commission on Veterinary Economic Issues and VetPartners have released financial and operational metric benchmarking tools designed specifically for referral practices. The collaboration was sparked because of the lack of comparative metrics available for referral centers, according to the two groups. It is difficult to gather benchmarking data for referral practices because their size, shape and business models vary greatly, the groups said. “Our goal is to provide referral practices with the same level of data and benchmarks as general practices, but tailored just for them,” said Karen Felsted, DVM, CPA, MS, CVPM, the CEO of NCVEI. “And our hope is that armed with this information, referral practices will continue to grow and improve, even in these economic times.” Two sets of tools will be available at NCVEI's re-launched website NCVEI.org: one for the referral practice and one for board-certified specialists and emergency doctors. The practice tools include data such as revenue per doctor, compensation, benefits, management techniques and number of referring DVMs. The specialty doctors’ tools include information on production, compensation and benefits categorized by specialty. Phase two of the referral practice tools, which will be available by the end of September, …
Boehringer Ingelheim To Boost Companion Animal, Cattle PortfoliosSeptember 22, 2009 Boehringer Ingelheim, the parent company of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc., has reached an agreement with Pfizer to acquire certain assets of Fort Dodge Animal Health upon the closing of the Pfizer-Wyeth merger. Wyeth is the parent company of Fort Dodge Animal Health. The merger is expected to take place in the fourth quarter. The agreement, subject to anti-trust clearance, is anticipated to boost Boehringer Ingelheim’s companion animal and cattle portfolios. For instance, in the U.S. and Canada, the company will own and market the pet and cattle vaccine lines as well as a range of pharmaceuticals for pets, cattle and other species. In Canada, several swine vaccines are part of the package. In Australia, Boehringer Ingelheim will own and market Fort Dodge pet vaccines, and in some European countries and South Africa, certain cattle vaccines. The deal would give way for Boehringer Ingelheim to acquire manufacturing and research facilities in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Boehringer Ingelheim is based in Germany and Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica in St. Joseph, Mo. Pfizer is based in New York, Wyeth in Madison, N.J., and Fort Dodge Animal Health in Overland Park, Kan. <HOME>
California Intact Animal Cap Bill One Step Closer To Becoming LawSeptember 16, 2009 California Assembly Bill 241, which would limit the number of intact dogs and cats any person could own for breeding and selling as pets, received the needed concurrence vote in the Assembly on Sept. 8 to be sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk to be signed into law. The bill moved to the Assembly floor for the concurrence vote after the Senate passed an amended version of the bill on Sept. 2. The most recent amendment reads, “No person or business entity, as defined, shall own, possess, control or otherwise have charge or custody of more than a combined total of 50 adult unsterilized dogs and cats, in the state, at any time used for the purpose of breeding or raising dogs or cats for sale as pets.” The bill previously did not include the term “business entity,” which is defined as any company, firm, association, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company or other legal entity. This does not apply to public animal control agencies, shelters, rescue groups, veterinary facilities and research facilities. In addition, AB 241 would make it a misdemeanor to act in concert with another person or to voluntarily assist a …
Pets Best Begins Selling Pet Insurance In JapanSeptember 16, 2009 Pets Best Japan is starting sales as the ninth pet-health insurance company approved to do business in Japan. More than 400,000 pets are believed to be insured in Japan, which has an estimated dog and cat population of 25 million. About 1.25 million pets are insured in the U.S., which is estimated to have a dog and cat population of 172 million. Pets Best Insurance of Boise, Idaho, introduced the Pets Best Japan licensing agreement last year and has been working to gain government approval. In Japan, pet insurance is regulated similarly to in the U.S. Previously, such insurance in Japan was provided through unregulated mutual-aid associations. Iwao Nonaga, CEO and founder of Pets Best Japan, said he spent 20 years trying to provide pet health insurance in Japan, ever since he met Jack Stephens, DVM, founder and president of Pets Best Insurance, the oldest and largest pet insurance company in the U.S. “Fortunately, I have had Dr. Stephens’s assistance and encouragement in my efforts to provide pet insurance for Japanese pet owners," Nonaga said. "I now look forward to fulfilling my dream of insuring Japanese pets.” Pets …
Cat Rabies Cases Up 12 Percent In 2008September 15, 2009 Despite an overall 3.1 percent decrease in the number of animal rabies cases in 2008, the number of rabies cases in cats increased 12 percent, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics. In 2008, 6,841 cases of animal rabies were reported in the United States and Puerto Rico, according to a CDC report published in the Sept. 15, 2009, edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. That was down 3.1 percent from 7,060 rabies cases in animals reported to the CDC in 2007. The number of human rabies cases doubled, from one to two, from 2007 to 2008. The CDC said 294 cases of rabies in cats were reported in 2008, up 12 percent from 262 cases in 2007. In contrast, dog-related rabies cases fell about 19 percent from 93 in 2007 to 75 in 2008. Wild animals, especially raccoons, bats, skunks and foxes, accounted for 93 percent of all rabies cases reported in 2008, the report stated. Jesse Blanton, an epidemiologist at the CDC, said cats are more likely to be bitten by a …
FDA Moves Against Teva, Citing Manufacturing PracticesSeptember 14, 2009 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported July 31 that it has taken action against Teva Animal Health Inc. because of the company’s failure to adhere to current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) regulations. The company said in a written statement: “Teva Animal Health regrets the deficiencies in our manufacturing practices, and we have already initiated corrective actions to ensure that we will swiftly meet all regulatory requirements. These actions include conducting a complete analysis of each individual product, retraining of our employees, and revalidating our equipment, processes and methods.” The decree of permanent injunction that was filed prohibits Teva Animal Health, its president and two principals from its parent company from manufacturing and distributing adulterated veterinary drugs. The injunction, once entered by the court, will prevent the defendants from manufacturing and distributing veterinary drugs until they achieve compliance with cGMP and obtain FDA approval, according to the statement released by the FDA. The FDA reported that it found “significant cGMP violations” at the company’s facilities, located in St. Joseph, Mo., during inspections from 2007 to 2009. The FDA said it will inspect Teva Animal Health’s facilities as needed before authorizing the company …
Campaign Warns ‘Leaving Pets In Hot Car Is A Crime’September 11, 2009 The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has launched a campaign to remind pet owners that it’s against the law to leave pets unattended in hot cars. To help get the word out, the office is distributing free posters to veterinarians, business owners and residents. The poster depicts a dog named “Bilby” sitting on a pan in an open oven that reads, “Hot Oven, Hot Car…It’s the Same Thing. Leaving an animal in a hot car is a crime.” “Leaving your dog in a hot car, even one parked in the shade, can be both a deadly mistake and a crime,” said Deputy District Attorney Deborah Knaan, animal cruelty case coordinator. “If you love your dog, leave it home where it’s safe.” Under California state law, pet owners who leave their animals unattended can be charged with a misdemeanor animal endangerment and face up to six months in jail. If the animal dies, the owner could be charged with felony animal cruelty and face up to three years in state prison. Even on mildly warm days, when the temperature is 72 degrees or hotter outside, the temperature in a car can be more than 100 …
New Government Consumer Website Includes Pet Food Recall InfoSeptember 10, 2009 The United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Department of Health & Human Services on Sept. 9 launched a food safety consumer website that will include pet food recall information. “We want to protect pets and animals so we will include information as it comes up,” said Vicki Rivas-Vazquez, a spokeswoman for HHS. The new website features information from all the agencies across the federal government that deal with critical food and food safety information. The goal is to provide a “one-stop online shop for all the latest information [consumers] need to reduce the danger of food-borne illnesses,” said Jerry Mande, deputy under secretary for Food Safety at USDA. The website will include information on food safety, food recalls (human and pet), preventive tips about how to handle food safely and news from the key agencies. Visitors can also sign up to receive email and RSS alerts on recalled or potentially unsafe food. The website will eventually include recall feeds for texting and mobile phones as well as a foodsafety.gov widget that the public and media can download and promote on their websites and social networking sites. The widget will instantly …
