News

Recently there has been a rash of fake emails appearing to originate from the SVMA office that refer to unpaid invoices. The email address will look something like “svma@svma.sk.ca” <hua@panlink.com. The last part appears to be different in every email. These are spam emails. Please delete without opening any attachments. You can also forward the email to reportspam@spamcontrol.local As always, feel free to contact us with any questions.

The SVMA (SaskVets) will be having a tradeshow booth at Agribition this year. We are looking for volunteers at the booth for four-hour shifts during the week. Each volunteer will receive a day pass for Agribition, to be used for their volunteer date. There will be two people per shift. An SVMA staff member (Lorraine) will be onsite all week. If you have questions or wish to volunteer, please either fill out this form: https://goo.gl/forms/Z0Q7gddTM4ktCb7f1, call Lorraine at 306-955-7860, or email lserhienko@svma.sk.ca. Full details will be sent to confirmed volunteers closer to the event.

At the SVMA Annual General Meeting on September 8, 2017, members passed revisions to the Bylaws. Here is the updated document, which went into effect on that date. SVMA Bylaws 2017

News reports of late indicate that areas of drought in some parts of Saskatchewan are the worst in a 100 years. The drought this summer, combined with record setting temperatures and the impact both of these have had on pastures, hay and cereal crops, as well as surface water, will have an impact on large animal nutrition, now and over the coming winter. SK veterinarians are concerned the reduction in hay production for baled feed, the reduction in hayfield regrowth for fall and winter grazing, the reduced growth in pastures, and the lowered yield of cereal crops (grain and straw)

The Summer Student Mentorship Program application deadline is changing: instead of February 28, the new application deadline will be November 30. WCVM students have told us they need to solidify their plans for summer jobs earlier in the year, so you can expect them to be reaching out to you earlier in the fall term. Click for details about the Summer Student Mentorship Program

Accredited veterinarians will soon have a larger role to play in the cervid industry by being a resource to cervid producers who wish to enroll in the CWD Voluntary Herd Certification Program. June 30, 2017 – Ottawa, ON – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is updating its national chronic wasting disease (CWD) program to better focus on disease prevention and risk management. As of December 31, 2017, the CFIA’s response and compensation will only be provided to producers enrolled in a Voluntary Herd Certification Program (VHCP). A transition period is being provided throughout 2018 to give producers time to

“Healthy pets sometimes euthanized for owners’ convenience: veterinary groups “ This story, published May 22, 2017 by The Canadian Press mentions that there are incidences of euthanization of healthy pets purely for their owners’ convenience. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA) has received a number of inquiries as a follow-up to this article, as have a number of provincial veterinary medical associations/regulatory bodies and the Atlantic Veterinary College. We understand that this ethical issue is of veterinary provincial jurisdiction. We wish to reiterate that we are a national professional association for veterinarians in Canada, but we are not a regulatory

Saskatchewan veterinarians need to be advised about some unusual zoonotic diseases identified in Saskatchewan in the last month, as well as useful links to educational material: Plague: Grasslands National Park- news release re: plague in prairie dogs: http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/scond/Cond_E.asp?oID=28232&oPark=100209 Information on plague and pets from CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/plague/healthcare/veterinarians.html Tularemia: Identified in rabbit and squirrel in Saskatoon. See the CWHC blog on the subject: http://blog.healthywildlife.ca/tularemia-diagnoses-urban-parks-saskatoon-saskatchewan-canada/ CDC tularemia page: https://www.cdc.gov/tularemia/ Rat Bite Fever: A case was identified in a person in Saskatoon, believed to be linked with a pet hamster bite, though the family also had two fancy rats. Rat bite fever has not