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Kennel Club agree to breeders' eye test requests
Changes to the eye test scheme for petit basset griffon vendeens have been agreed following requests by breeders.
Changes to the eye test scheme for petit basset griffon vendeens have been agreed following requests by breeders.

Reclassification for petit basset griffon vendeens

Primary open angle glaucoma test results in petit basset griffon vendeens are to be published by the Kennel Club after requests by pedigree breeders.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA), the Kennel Club, and the International Sheepdog Society currently run and Canine Heath Scheme which includes eye tests.

On Monday it was announced that following a meeting of the Canine Heath Scheme's Eye Panel Working Party, a decision has been made to reclassify primary open angle glaucoma in petit basset griffon vendeens, as schedule a instead of schedule b.

That in turn, means the results of conditions will be published by the Kennel Club.  Results including a ‘G’ notation, in the same manner as other glaucoma conditions, will appear alongside the date of testing on registration certificates and in the Kennel Club Breed Records Supplement.


Aimee Llewellyn, Kennel Club health information manager, said: “The Kennel Club would normally insist on a minimum of three months warning to breeders before agreeing to such a change, but as the request for the move has been made by the breed club this was not considered necessary in this case.

“The Kennel Club continues to work alongside breed clubs and breed health coordinators in a collaborative effort to improve the health of pedigree dogs, as well as working jointly with the BVA on health schemes for hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia and inherited eye diseases.

"These programmes help conscientious breeders to identify those dogs that are clinically free of such diseases so that the best possible choices for breeding programmes may be made.”


For further information regarding this change, please contact either the Canine Health Schemes at the BVA via chs@bva.co.uk or the Kennel Club Health and Breeders Services department via hbs@thekennelclub.org.uk.


Further information on the BVA/KC health schemes can be found here.

Image by Małgorzata Miłaszewska

 

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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA webinar explores sheep tailing and castration

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is to host a free webinar on the castration and tail docking of lambs.

The webinar, 'Understanding the tailing and castration consultation: A guide for sheep farmers', will be hosted online on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 7.30pm.

It comes during a government consultation into the methods used for these procedures. Farmers are encouraged to engage before the consultation period closes on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The webinar offers clear and actionable guidance to support farmers to contribute meaningfully to the consultation and prepare for potential changes.

On the panel will be former SVS president Kate Hovers, farmer and vet Ann Van Eetvelt and SRUC professor in Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences Cathy Dwyer. Each panel member will utilise their own specialism and expertise to evaluate risks and outcomes to sheep farming.

Find out more about the webinar on the NSA website.