'We've got to ban bad breeders'.

Crufts TV presenter Clare Balding has called for the Kennel Club to get tough on breeders. Adele Waters reports.

Potential of Genome Editing to Improve Aquaculture Breeding and Production.

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector and is rapidly becoming the primary source of seafood for human diets. Selective breeding programs are enabling genetic improvement of production traits, such as disease resistance, but progress is limited by the heritability of the trait and generation interval of the species. New breeding technologies, such as genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9 have the potential to expedite sustainable genetic improvement in aquaculture. Genome editing can rapidly introduce favorable changes to the genome, such as fixing alleles at existing trait loci, creating de novo alleles, or introducing alleles from other strains or species. The high fecundity and external fertilization of most aquaculture species can facilitate genome editing for research and application at a scale that is not possible in farmed terrestrial animals.

Born captive: A survey of the lion breeding, keeping and hunting industries in South Africa.

Commercial captive breeding and trade in body parts of threatened wild carnivores is an issue of significant concern to conservation scientists and policy-makers. Following a 2016 decision by Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, South Africa must establish an annual export quota for lion skeletons from captive sources, such that threats to wild lions are mitigated. As input to the quota-setting process, South Africa's Scientific Authority initiated interdisciplinary collaborative research on the captive lion industry and its potential links to wild lion conservation. A National Captive Lion Survey was conducted as one of the inputs to this research; the survey was launched in August 2017 and completed in May 2018. The structured semi-quantitative questionnaire elicited 117 usable responses, representing a substantial proportion of the industry. The survey results clearly illustrate the impact of a USA suspension on trophy imports from captive-bred South African lions, which affected 82% of respondents and economically destabilised the industry. Respondents are adapting in various ways, with many euthanizing lions and becoming increasingly reliant on income from skeleton export sales. With rising consumer demand for lion body parts, notably skulls, the export quota presents a further challenge to the industry, regulators and conservationists alike, with 52% of respondents indicating they would adapt by seeking 'alternative markets' for lion bones if the export quota allocation restricted their business. Recognizing that trade policy toward large carnivores represents a 'wicked problem', we anticipate that these results will inform future deliberations, which must nonetheless also be informed by challenging inclusive engagements with all relevant stakeholders.

The effect of breed-specific dog legislation on hospital treated dog bites in Odense, Denmark-A time series intervention study.

As dog bite injuries are a considerable problem in modern society, in order to reduce such injuries, breed-specific legislation has been introduced in a number of countries. Whilst many studies have shown a lack of effect with such legislation, the commonly used methodology is known to be flawed. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the Danish breed-specific legislation on the number of dog bite injuries using more credible methods. A time series intervention method was used on a detailed dataset from Odense University Hospital, Denmark, regarding dog bite injuries presented to the emergency department. The results indicate that banning certain breeds has a highly limited effect on the overall levels of dog bite injuries, and that an enforcement of the usage of muzzle and leash in public places for these breeds also has a limited effect. Despite using more credible and sound methods, this study supports previous studies showing that breed-specific legislation seems to have no effect on dog bite injuries. In order to minimise dog bite injuries in the future, it would seem that other interventions or non-breed-specific legislation should be considered as the primary option.

Ethics in animal breeding.

Ethical breeding involves the use of healthy animals true to their species in behaviour and physical appearance, and when applicable, showing a sustainable performance. The concerns for the species/breed are essential parts of the breeding goals, including preservation of genetic resources within the species/breed, and the health and welfare of the individual animal. Ethical and welfare considerations were often not prioritized in developing new breeds of production or companion animals. As a result, animal breeding practices are increasingly becoming part of the debate on animal welfare. In companion animals, breeding for curiosity or "cuteness" may be a goal in itself, although dogs are also bred for utility. In production animals, breeding focus is on performance, i.e., quantitative entities and financial income, rather than physical appearance. For instance, dairy cows are bred to be larger and to have higher milk yields, sows and ewes to produce more offspring, and horses are designed for riding, racing, and companionship. Overbreeding in relation to current demand of horses, cats, and dogs raises welfare issues due to abandonment or killing of horses and millions of cats and dogs every year. There is variable regulation of health requirements for breeding animals in different countries of the world. In many countries, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of animal welfare issues such as negative effects of certain production traits in farm animals, leading to decreased demand for their meat at a time where increased food production is becoming crucial. Amidst these dilemmas are the veterinarians. This paper deals with issues connected to traditional breeding as well as some of the breeding technologies, and includes food safety, ethics, and animal welfare.

Breeding policies and management of pedigree dogs in 15 national kennel clubs.

To improve the health and welfare of pedigree dogs, national kennel clubs (KCs) are key players in the governance and regulation of dog breeding. In a survey conducted to investigate differences between KCs in breeding policies and management of pedigree dogs, a questionnaire was completed by 15 KCs from 11 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom) and four non-European countries (Australia, Mexico, Uruguay and the USA). The most important concerns reported by KCs were exaggerated morphological features and inherited disorders. A wide variety of information, tools and strategies was used to address these issues, with implementation differing across countries and breeds. KCs reported progress in the collection and provision of information related to canine health and welfare. Implementation of advanced breeding tools, such as genetic evaluation and online advisory mating tools, and balanced breeding strategies, endorsed by clubs and breeders, remain challenging and require further development.

2017: a veterinary year in review.

Kathryn Clark takes a look back at some of the significant developments of 2017.