fab news dec 2011

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In this issuePresident's Piece ........................................... 1

The FAB Newsletter - electronic or

paper? The survey and results .................. 2

Companion animal anxiety disorders

and their impact on animal welfare ........ 3

The Government industry agreement:

Primary industries and MAF collaborating

on biosecurity .............................................. 4

Welfare of owned companion animals

in developing island nations ...................... 5

The blueprint of New Zealands most

notorious food-borne pathogen....

secrets revealed by the full genome of

Campylobacter jejuniST-474 ....................... 6

Introducing Patrick Biggs ......................... 7

Australian Jingle Bells ................................. 7

The shape of the new MAF ...................... 8

Christmas wishes ........................................ 9

Issue 11 December 2011

FAB News

2010/ 2011 FAB executive:Kevin Crews (president)

Peggy Angus-Cook (vice president)Nita Harding (secretary/ treasurer)

William BrownNigel FrenchDouglas LushTrish Pearce

Wayne Ricketts

John SchofieldJayne RoiriRichard Wild

Virginia Williams

President's PieceWelcome to the last FAB newsletter for 2011. The past year has been

a particularly challenging one for members, especially those based in

Christchurch. The word resilience has been used many times over since

February to describe how Christchurch has coped with events since that

fateful month. While nowadays such terms can suffer from the verbal

equivalent of OOS, no one can argue that it is a fitting description for how

Christchurch residents have come through the balance of 2011.

As I have reflected on the achievements of our branch during 2011, it has made me think

about what the coming year (and beyond) might bring for our members. I was given a bit of

an insight into what the future might look like when I attended the 2011 ESRI Health Users

GIS Conference in Arlington, Virginia in early-September*.

A key underlying theme of this conference was the innovation possible arising from

the Obama health care reforms. With the shift of the $US3 trillion annual health care

expenditure from pay for volume to pay for outcome, and the move to more universal

Kevin Crews (left) at the 2011 ESRI Health Users GIS Conference in

Arlington, Virginia in early-September.

health insurance coverage, public

health and preventive medicine

is experiencing somewhat of arenaissance.

A major part of the health care

reforms has been the legislative

liberation (with robust privacy

protections) of health outcome

data, in combination with other

spatial data, to enable health care

providers, as well as developers,

build applications and put in place

interventions to improve health

outcomes. Examples of this are

the CDCs Division of Heart

Disease and Stroke Prevention

Chronic Disease GIS Exchange

and the National Library of

Medicines Toxmap GIS platform,

which enables combining spatial

data on hazardous waste sites

and toxic chemical facilities with

continued on page 2

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cancer mortality, US Census and other

demographic data.

While this culture of innovation appears

to be a deep-rooted part of the American

psyche, I could not help but ponder

whether similar possibilities will exist

in New Zealand once we implement a

national system of animal identification

and traceability from next year onwards.

While the real benefits for food safety,

animal welfare and biosecurity arising

from the implementation of NAIT remain

an unknown, our FAB members all work

in areas where day-to-day they see the

outcomes (good and bad) of management

interventions (or inaction) further up

the supply chain. I would hope that one

day we too in New Zealand can utilise

the opportunities created by NAIT to

liberate data for the benefit of the wider

agricultural industries and the nation.

2012 NZVA/SIB subscriptions are now

due and I would like to thank members

for their continued support and would

again like to acknowledge the support

of the management of MAF-Verification

Service. FAB is now the fifth-largest

Special Interest Branch within NZVA

(rapidly approaching becoming the fourth-

largest) and our size now ensures that we

provide a representative voice for non-

clinical interests within the association at

national level. This level of influence is onlypossible with your continued support for

our branch.

For those non-members, I would hope

that FAB has done enough over the past

12 months to demonstrate the value of

membership and I hope you will consider

joining us for 2012.

Finally, I would like to wish members and

families a Merry Christmas and all the

best for the New Year.

Kevin Crews FAB PresidentPS *Attending the ESRI Health Users Conference

required me to fly back and forward across the

USA during the tenth-anniversary o f the 9-11

terrorist attacks on New York and Washington,

continuing my living dangerously theme of 2011.

I trust you all saw the survey email(s) with the link to the online

questionnaire?

FAB sincerely thanks Bruce Faull (pictured above on Mt Pureora) for assisting FAB in questiondesign, setting up the electronic survey link and analysis and reporting of the results. I worked

with Bruce on all aspects but he saved me the considerable amount of time it would have taken

had I needed to analyse and report the survey findings on my own.

Bruce and I have been supported by MAF VS to spend the time we needed for the survey.

The initial e-mail and two reminders sent out resulted in 74 of our 222 members responding to

complete the survey.

A resounding 78% (58 respondents) said the proposed electronic format was acceptable when

asked directly.

That has validated the Executive Committee opinion it is better having the potential $6000

worth of annual savings available to spend on other continuing professional development

options for members.Seventy percent of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement

that some people believe the current approximate cost difference of $2000 per issue is worth

spending on a hard copy newsletter.

The overall 33% response rate to the survey (74/222) is enough to give confidence the views of

the membership have been reasonably represented in the survey findings.

For those people who like to read hard copy at their leisure away from their computer then

printing off the file will be the option for them.

For the nine respondents who recommended a more frequent publishing frequency the most

common suggestion was a quarterly publication. Sixteen respondents thought 3 times per year

was okay and 10 others made general comments about information from FAB, employers and

other sources.

The newsletter format, content and layout were generally considered acceptable with many

positive comments received. Twenty-two of the 37 people who gave feedback made supportive

comments such as: Happy with the content and format of the last few years It is just fine;

Like it as it is keep it up; I really enjoy the slice of life articles different people in the

branch detailing what it is they do especially with colour pictures.; I like the presentation as it

is small size encourages reading, layout is attractive.

A number of good suggestions for improvement were

made and the Editors and the Exec Committee will see if

they can be incorporated.

So people thanks to those who let us know their

thoughts. The full survey report is available from William

Brown (William.Brown@maf .govt.nz) or the FAB

Secretary Nita Harding ([email protected])

William Brown - November 2011

The FAB Newsletter -electronic or paper?

The survey and results

William Brown at petrol station - while trout

fishing at Ikamatua, West Coast.

William's small, but legal trout.

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Companion animal anxiety disordersand their impact on animal welfareBehavioural consults comprise less than 1% of the work of the average companion animal

veterinarian (8), yet behavioural problems which may be manifestations of anxiety disorders in

dogs and cats are remarkably common. A lack of confidence in diagnosing and treating anxiety

disorders, and underestimation of the impact of such disorders on animal welfare may play

contributing roles in this situation.

Anxiety in companion animals can manifest in many ways. These can include fear posturing or

hiding in the presence of certain people, objects or noises, aggression, vocalisation, inappropriate

defecation or urination stereotypic and destructive behaviours. It is difficult to gauge the

number of animals living with anxiety, as a great many cases never receive veterinary help or

are even recognised by the owners. For example, it is common for cats in multi-cat householdsto be anxious, but the signs of this are subtle, such as one cat blocking another access to a

particular area of the home. Such signs are easily missed by even the most astute of owners (3).

Surveys have shown that a large proportion of pets exhibit behaviours which may indicate an

anxiety disorder. 13-56% bark excessively, 11-23% chew destructively, 20% have noise phobias,

7% soil in the house and 2% are excessively timid (1, 2, 4). Of course not all of these behaviours

will be attributable to anxiety. However, it is safe to assume that with such high rates of

behavioural problems in our pets, if even a proportion of this is anxiety based, it is an issue

worthy of some attention.

So are these anxious dogs and cats an animal welfare concern? While there are a number

of different definitions of animal welfare, most outline that the animal should not be fearful,

distressed, anxious or otherwise suffering mentally (6). It would be difficult to argue that a dog

that panics so violently as to cause itself bodily harm when left alone is not experiencing mentalsuffering. Even in more subtle cases, such as a cat that over-grooms due to having a new cat

in the household, the individual in question shows an obsessive disorder most likely indicating

mental unrest.

Anxiety disorders may also impact on the animals physical health. Separation anxiety has been

associated with anorexia, diarrhoea and vomiting (7). Dogs that fear strangers have a lifespan 0.5

years shorter than non-fearful dogs (5). Non-social fear and separation anxiety are both positive

predictors of skin disease in dogs (5). Behavioural problems are one of the primary reasons for

pets being taken to the vet for euthanasia (8). Additionally, over 30% of the dogs turned over

to animal shelters have behavioural problems cited as the primary reason for surrender. A large

proportion of these animals will also be euthanised.

The first step in alleviating these animals suffering is recognition of the individuals affected.

Many owners will not be forthcoming in describing a behavioural issue, especially if they do

not think the behaviour to be a serious problem, for example a dog that is just a bit shy. The

onus falls to veterinarians to ask the appropriate questions to extract this information, and in

this arena the profession falls short. Only 25% of vets regularly enquire about behaviour during

consults, and 14% never ask behavioural questions (8). Careful observation of the pet before,

during and after the consult is another useful tool. Some, but not all, anxious animals will pace,

pant, or constantly seek attention from the owners.

Once recognised, the problem may be treated. As anxiety cases are seldom dealt with by most

vets, many are not confidant in giving dealing with these conditions. For example, less than 8% of

vets say they are confidant in treating aggression problems, (8) and referral is common. Referral

to another veterinarian more confidant in

treating such cases is a positive step. However,

a number of referrals are to dog trainers or

self-purported behaviourists who have little or

no formal training. Referral to somebody who

is under-qualified to deal with the problem

can easily make the situation worse, therefore

referral should be considered carefully, not

merely used as a way to fob off a difficult case.

There is a great deal of room for

improvement for vets dealing with animal

anxiety cases. However, by asking some basic

history questions and seeing such cases as an

opportunity, not an inconvenience, they can

easily become a rewarding part of practice,and go a long way to alleviate suffering in our

companion animals.

Fiona Esam BVSc V 2011

References1) Adams GJ, Clark WT, The prevalence of behavioura l

problems in domestic dogs a survey of 105 dog

owners, Australian Veterinary Practitioner, 1989

2) Beaver BV, Owner complaints about canine behaviour,

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association,

1994

3) Beer L, Which drug should I use and when?

Psychopharmacology made easy, Proceedings of theAustralian Veterinary Association Annual Conferences,

2006

4) Campbell WE, The prevalence of behavioural problems

in American dogs, Modern Veterinary Practice, 1986

5) Dreschel NA, The effects of fear and anxiety on health

and lifespan in pet dogs, Applied Animal Behaviour

Science, 2010

6) Green L, Nicol C, Use of epidemiology to assess animal

welfare advantages and disasdvantages, Proceedings

of the Food Safety, Animal Welfare & Biosecurity,

Epidemiology & Animal Health Management, and

Industry branches of the NZVA, 2004

7) Overall KL, Anxiety Disorders, Proceedings of the

Annual Seminars of the Companion Animal Society of

the NZVA , 1998

8) Patronek GJ, Dodman NH, Attitudes, procedures and

delivery of behaviour services by veterinarians in small

animal practice, Journel of the American Veterinary

Medical Association, 1999

9) Wells DL, Hepper PG, Prevalence of behaviour

problems reported by owners of dos purchased from

an animal rescue shelter, Applied Animal Behaviour

Science, 2000

Editor's noteFiona was successful in obtaining a FAB prize for an article

from a BVSc Year 5 student suitable for publication in the

FAB newsletter.

FAB NewsletterEditors: William [email protected] & Jayne Roiri .................................................... [email protected]: Peggy Angus-Cook...................................................................................................................................................Peggy.Angus-Cook@nzfsa.govt.nz

MAF VSc/- Prime Range Meats, PO Box 5120, Invercargill 9810

Being left alone a common source of anxiety for pet dogs; Selection of psychopharmaceuticals used for anxiety disorders; Careful observation starts in the waiting room; Fiona Esam.

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The GIA will consist of a number of

components. The final form is still under

negotiation but it is likely to be a single

overlying deed that will be signed by MAF

and participating industry organisations.

This agreement will outline how the parties

will work together from an administrative,

decision making and funding perspective.

The deed will be supported by industry or

organism specific agreements. These will

record priority pests and diseases, agreed

readiness programmes, how much each

party will pay, and the maximum amount that

industries are willing to spend in a response.

After listening to industry feedback, the

government has committed to funding a

minimum of 50% of the costs of jointly

agreed readiness and response activities. In

earlier drafts of the agreement, cost shares

could have resulted in industry paying up to90% of the costs.

Progress to dateMAF has been actively working with industry

bodies to introduce them to the GIA

concepts and operating model, and to seek

their feedback. As part of this engagement

we have held a series of workshops with

industry organisations to identify priority

pests and potential readiness activities. These

workshops have been very well received and

have given both MAF and industry staff a

practical demonstration of the benefits thatcan be gained from planning and working

together.

Earlier this year a draft deed was provided

to industry for comment. Representatives

of key industry groups (including dairy,

meat, forestry, equine, pork, deer, poultry

and horticulture) met with MAF Director

General Wayne McNee in September to

discuss their views. Industry representatives

will continue to collaborate with MAF on

the deed and to develop industry value

propositions. MAF will report back toCabinet in March next year on progress

made on the development of the Agreement.

Changes to the Biosecurity Act are necessary

to enable the GIA. The legislative process

for making these changes is underway and

is expected to be completed by mid 2012.

MAF and industries will not be able to sign

the GIA until these changes have been made.

The Government industry agreement

Primary industries and MAFcollaborating on biosecurityWork is progressing on a significant change to New Zealands biosecurity

system that will give the countrys primary industries a greater say in the

management of biosecurity threats.

Known as the Government Industry Agreement (GIA), this initiative will see the government

and primary industries collaborate on getting ready for and responding to incursions of pests

and diseases. Decision making, and the costs of the agreed activities, will be shared.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) sees the GIA as a real opportunity to partner

with industry and co-invest in biosecurity activities that are important to them.MAF has been talking to industry representatives about joint decision-making and cost

sharing for some years, starting with an industry working group to first canvas ideas back

in 2005. Following a number of consultations, workshops and meetings since then, MAF and

representatives of key industries are now working together to formulate the detail of the

agreement.

Why have the GIA?There are substantial benefits from adopting a collaborative approach. Once established, the

GIA will drive improved priority setting, ensuring the best use of limited resources. Industries

will have a greater say in biosecurity readiness and response activities that directly affect them.

Improving the countrys readiness for incursions will see a reduction in harm caused by new

organisms. When working together, responses will be faster and more effective.

Should an incursion of an unwanted organism occur, all GIA partners with an interest in that

organism will collaborate to assess the different management options and decide which one

to take. All decisions will be shared, including when to end the response and ensure a smooth

transition into long term management if required.

The nuts and bolts of the GIAThe proposed agreement will apply to biosecurity readiness and response activities that provide

benefits to primary industry. It will not apply to biosecurity activities that provide only public

benefit for example environmental or human health protection.

Aeroplane fumigation Dunedin harbour biosecurity

Biosecurity

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Welfare of owned companionanimals in developing island nationsI recently travelled to Tonga to assist in setting up a temporary veterinary

clinic with a New Zealand charity group. My time there introduced me to a

number of issues related to animal welfare and health care in developing islandnations.

The issue of welfare of companion animals in developing island nations

is only broached when a sensationalised story of animal abuse or human

consumption of a companion animal, finds it way in to the media. While animal

abuse and inhumane slaughter techniques are important welfare issues they are

by no means the only welfare challenges faced by companion animals on developing

islands. Examining other sources of welfare challenge a better picture of the core

problems and their potential solutions can be gained. These include a lack of access

to veterinary care, educational material and over the counter animal products.

Access to veterinary care is often limited or completely unachievable in developing

island nations. In Tonga for example, prior to 2011, a qualified veterinarian had

not been present on the island for some time. The only access to medical carefor animals was via a small number of para-veterinarians working for the Tongan

government. These men received 3 months of off island training before being left to

administer medical and surgical veterinary care with very limited resources. It is easy

to understand the stress that these men would face operating in such a situation and

also that animal welfare would often be compromised despite the best efforts of all

involved. Island nations have difficulty attracting and retaining veterinarians even under

schemes where locals are given scholarships to attend veterinary school, because they

are usually unable to offer remuneration competitive with veterinary salaries in other

countries.

There is also a lack of information on local disease epidemiology. Few surveys of animal disease

prevalence and incidence have been conducted and as Saville (1996) outlines in his report, of

those few that have been undertaken, fewer still have been published and are therefore not

readily available to island veterinarians or para-veterinarians.

Also important is the lack of access to veterinary advice and other forms of educational

material on animal care. Even in areas with easy access to the internet it can be difficult for

people to find reliable information, particularly if the nation has a unique language and most

of the population are unilingual. In 2005 Fielding found that lack of knowledge of animal

care sometimes means owners do not know when their animal requires medical attention,

so animals may not be taken to a veterinarian even if access to a veterinarian is possible.

Knowledge of animal care is also important in population control because better informed

owners are generally more inclined to participate in de-sexing schemes. Finally education can

provide owners with humane options in situations where euthanasia of animals is required for

any reason.

Access to over the counter animal products appears to have a significant impact on animal welfare

in developing island nations. Many products we take for granted in New Zealand are difficult orimpossible for pet owners to obtain, such as pet food, parasite treatment and collars. This lack

of access is likely due to a number of factors. Products are often impractical to import due to

licensing problems and discrepancies between product cost and the relative average income of

owners. Developing island nations with small populations are also unlikely to be able to import

animal care products with labels in their unique national language. The implications of this lack of

access to animal care products are often substantial: heavy parasite burdens and nutrition related

diseases are common findings in the animal population of many developing islands.

Education, access to animal care products and access to veterinary care, are intricately

interwoven issues. Without education, owners will not be aware of the animal care product or

veterinary needs, of their pet. Similarly without access to animal care products and veterinary

services, education of owners will only serve to highlight needs of animals that owners

will often be unable to fulfil. Animal welfare and human welfare must also be considered as

interrelated issues as many common diseases in developing island nations are zoonotic. Forthese reasons animal welfare improvement in developing island nations needs to be approached

from a holistic perspective.

Sarah Goulter BVSc V 2011

ReferencesAlie, K., Davis, B. W., Fielding , W. J., Harris-Alleyne, J., Coipel,

A., & Galindo, F. (in press). Carib- bean attitudes towards

dogs and other pets: Dominica, a case study. Anthrozoos,

15, 3, 206-226.Fielding, W. J., & Plumridge, S. J.(2005). Characteristcs

of owned dogs on the island of New Providence, the

Bahamas. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 8, 4,

245-260.

Fielding, W. J., Mather, J., & Isaacs, M. (2005). Potcakes:

Dog ownership in New Providence, The Bahamas. West

Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press.

Fielding, W. J.,(2007). Knowledge of the welfare of

nonhuman animals and prevalence of dog care practices in

New Providence, the Bahamas. Journal of Applied Animal

Welfare Sceince, 10, 2, 153-168.

Saville, P. (1996). The Animal Health Status of Tonga. South

Pacific Comission Oceania Printers Ltd. Suva Fiji

Editor's noteSarah was also successful in obtaining a FAB

prize for this article from a BVSc Year 5

student suitable for publication in the FAB

newsletter.

Pictured above: Tongan pet.

Pictured left: an example of

the extreme animal health

issues encountered.

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The blueprint ofNew Zealands mostnotorious food-borne

pathogen.

....secrets revealed by the full genomeofCampylobacter jejuniST-474Dr Patrick Biggs, the lead author of the following article is a bioinformatician based in mEpiLab in the Hopkirk Research

Institute. The work was done in collaboration with ESR Ltd, AgResearch Ltd, Washington State University in the USA and

Lancaster University in the UK.

Despite major improvements in recent years New Zealand still has one of the

highest notification rates of human gastroenteritis caused by Campylobacter

in the world. In the peak of the epidemic a single strain, known as C. jejuni

ST-474 was estimated to have caused 2530% of around 16,000 human

campylobacteriosis cases in New Zealand, and this strain was strongly

associated with the poultry supply.Until recently little was known about ST-474

other than the fact that it was rarely found

elsewhere in the world. However recent

advances in DNA sequencing have made itpossible to sequence full genomes quickly

and (relatively!) cheaply. A recent paper,

published in the journal PLoSONE (Biggs et al

2011), is the first to describe the full genome

sequences of two isolates of ST-474, both

isolated in the same place in the same month;

one from a human case, the other from a

supermarket-purchased chicken.

This unique study used advanced

mathematical models of evolutionary process

to understand how the organism is evolving,

and produced some surprising results. The

first surprise was how many differences there

were between the two genomes - these

isolates were indistinguishable by what would

normally be considered highly discriminatory

typing methods and yet there were 83 genes

that differed between them. These werent

just simple mutations of single bases either,

there was evidence that large chunks ofDNA had been imported from other closely

related strains on at least 19 occasions.

This meant that over 95% of the differences

between the two genomes were ascribed

to these events, known as horizontal gene

transfer or recombination events, implying

that this is the primary mechanism driving the

evolution of these bacteria.

The largest difference between the two

genomes was the presence of two genes in

one strain that were absent in the other. One

of these genes is frequently found in strains

ofC. jejuniassociated with ruminants, and this

has led to speculation that the early ancestors

of the current poultry-associated strains may

have originated in sheep or cattle introduced

into New Zealand in the 19th Century.

We may never know exactly where ST-474

arose from, but the rarity of this strain of

C. jejuniin other countries combined with

its persistence in both humans and poultry

suggests that the population of ST-474 in

New Zealand has arisen as a result of clonal

expansion from a single common ancestor

that evolved from a more ubiquitous,

historically-introduced lineage.

Work is underway to understand more about

how this strain arose and diverged from its

ancestors by sequencing more genomes and

using advanced techniques for modelling the

relationship between the genetic code and

the behaviour of different strains under a

range of conditions.

ReferencesBiggs PJ, Fearnhead P, Hotter G, Mohan V, Collins-Emerson

J, et al. (2011) Whole-Genome Comparison o f TwoCampylobacter jejuni Isolates o f the Same Sequence Type

Reveals Multiple Loci of Different Ancestral Lineage. PLoS

ONE 6(11): e27121. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027121.

The article is freely available

This figure (pictured on left), taken from the ar ticle, is a

Circos plot showing the regions of the genome that differ

between the two ST-474 isolates. Details of the regions

affected, the number of differences between genomes and

whether they can be ascribed to recombination are all

captured in the figure. A detailed caption describing each

concentric ring is provided in the paper.

Editors commentSignificant effort has gone into reducing

the rates of Campylobacter infection inhumans in New Zealand. Campylobacteriosis

notifications rose steadily from 1980 when

it became a notifiable disease until 2006

when a number of voluntary and regulatory

measures were put in place to reduce

the very high levels reported. The risk

management strategy was developed with

close co-operation between NZFSA and the

poultry industry and first released at the end

of 2006. A revised estimate indicates that 68%

of food borne campylobacteriosis cases are

attributable to poultry. From 2007 a number

of steps were implemented in the poultryindustry to reduce the public exposure to

Campylobacter jejuni. By 2008 the annual

campylobacteriosis notification rate had

declined by 54% compared to pre 2006 levels.

The risk management strategy, with primary

focus on the poultry industry, includes

mandatory performance targets at the end

of primary processing, processing codes of

practice with chapters covering primary

processing, secondary processing and

cleaning and sanitation. NZFSA has also

been stressing ongoing consumer vigilance

in the home. It is difficult to attribute the

reduced campylobacteriosis levels to a single

intervention, but processing hygiene, appears

to be a major factor.

The blueprint ofNew Zealands mostnotorious food-borne

pathogen.

continued on page 7

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Dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden Ute,

Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot,

Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs,

It's Summer time and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut !,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Engine's getting hot, we dodge the kangaroos,

The swaggie climbs aboard,

he is welcome too.

All the family's there,

sitting by the pool,

Christmas Day the Aussie way,

by the barbecue.

Come the afternoon,

Grandpa has a doze,

The kids and Uncle Bruce,

are swimming in their clothes.

The time comes 'round to go,

we take the family snap,

Pack the car and all shoot through,

before the washing up.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,

Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,

Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute

7

Australian Jingle Bells

Introducing Patrick BiggsPatrick is a British-born computerbiologist/molecular biologist with a PhD in

cancer genetics and a Bachelor of Science

Honours degree in Applied Biochemistry.

He has worked with the large data

volumes from next-generation sequencing

technologies. He ran a small team handling

the informatics aspects of two large

scale international mutagenesis projects:

European Conditional Mouse Mutagenesis

Program (EUCOMM) and Knockout

Mouse Project (KOMP). Previously he

managed the day-to-day running of ateam that created randomly mutated

murine embryonic stem (ES) cells in a high

throughput environment.

An area of particular interest is

bioinformatics, specifically in MySQL and

genomic sequence analysis.

Patrick arrived in New Zealand in April

2007 to join his New Zealand-born

fiance, now wife, looking for a new

challenge in a new country. Outside of

work, he is heavily involved in archery

currently being the Vice President ofArchery New Zealand, and the Chairman

of selectors for Archery New Zealand as

well as holding other roles within archery

groups.

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are vets in the Standards branch and the

disease response veterinarians generally are

in the Compliance and Response branch.

The names of the sections under the

functional groups are reasonably self

explanatory.

The veterinary work of government still has

to be done, so us front-liners carry on.

There were some big pluses from the

incremental change that Steve Gilbert (now

Director Verification Services) and Chris

Mawson have put us through the last 10

years. MAFVS staff are among a group where,

as industry changes, we have been required

to change and expand roles, shift our

verification focus, carry out our regulatory

roles in a capacity building manner i.e.

help industry change and only insist using

our regulatory powers if industry will not

listen. Consequently our people and systemshave been in the main transferred to the

new MAF. The fruit of all those VA Technical

Workshops, Regional Meetings, Technical

Briefs and Technical Memos has paid off in a

service as usual approach during this period

of tremendous organisational change.

Our kind thoughts go to our colleagues in

Wellington and other sites who are applying

for the new positions and wait to hear

Welcome aboard again or Sorry mate

someone else has got that position you

applied for.

After Feb 2012 the even keel may be what

we are sailing in MAF again.

William Brown

The shape of the new MAFFor most of us MAFeverarians (us long timers) we follow some of the new

names for the various disciplines in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

but we really wait to see where the people we knew end up in the new

structures. That way we will know something of what new MAF does in its re-

integration.

This article came from a request of a FAB member in the Newsletter Survey Could someone explain

the MAF structures since it is difficult for someone on the outside of MAF to follow what has happened.

Here goes:

MAF prior to 2010 had the government departments that were not in NZ Food Safety

Authority or Ministry of Fisheries. The main group of veterinarians in MAF were in MAF

Biosecurity NZ. NZFSA was a small Ministry about 400 staff - and governments in similar

sized countries to NZ have as few as 14 government departments NZ last year had 34 and Idont know if that includes State Owned Enterprises or not. Cost savings could be gained if the

management functions of ministries could be streamlined and so MAF/NZFSA and Ministry of

Fisheries were combined.

There have been some challenging change processes being followed since these decisions were

taken and the focus has been to ensure the essential MAF structure necessary for government

to achieve stated strategic goals for NZ Inc will occur.

MAF has developed the Statement of Intent 2011/2014 that has been signed off by the

government you can see this on the MAF website if you follow onwards on the site from

Current Priorities at http://www.maf.govt.nz/about-maf/our-organisation

The structures of the new large organisation are now being aligned to produce those strategic

goals. There is still some distance to go before staff and role changes have settled as newmanagers also settle into their roles.

The structure can be seen at http://www.maf.govt.nz/about-maf/our-organisation/our-structure.

aspx if you click on the Overview of Branch design Organisational Diagram heading there. This

is not only a setup of branches within MAF but also explains the role and focus of the branches,

inclusive of the Verification and Systems branch.

Some explanation of the veterinary bits of this may help.

The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry has the Director General (DG) MAF reporting to him/

her. The DG is Wayne McNee. Deputy DGs report to Wayne.

Directors of the various functional/structural groups report to Deputy Director Generals.

Those groups are: Compliance and Response :Corporate Services :Maori Primary Sector

Partnerships :Office of the Director General :Policy :Resource Management and Programmes :Standards :Verification and Systems.

The majority of us FAB member vets in the meat and other animal product industries are in the

Verification and Systems branch and our bit has been named MAF Verifications Services. There

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Disclaimer: FAB Newsletter is published by the New Zealand Veterinary Association Incorporated (NZVA).The views expressed in the articles do not necessarily represent those of NZVA, FAB or the editor. Itdoes not accept legal responsibility for the truth or accuracy of the information contained herein. NeitherNZVA/FAB nor the editor accepts any liability whatsoever for the contents of this publication or for any

consequences that may result from the use of any information contained herein or advice given herein. Thisprovision is intended to exclude NZVA/FAB, the editors and producer f rom all liability whatsoever, includingliability for negligence in the publication or reproduction of the materials set out herein.

our strategy 2030

gwn nd pcn Nw Zlnd

MaxiMiseexport

opportunitiesand iMprove

sector productivity

We Will achieve this by:

enabling


Why this strategy?

SucceSSWe Will knoW Weve

succeeded When We have

contributed to:

and When the Ministry

achieves:

our approach

Friday 5 august, 9.00am

our organiSation

our culture

connected Focused on results lean and agile taking inForMed risksdelivering on our

be innovative


develop our people


Make inForMed decisions


Focus on relationships


our focuS

partnering


increasesustainableresource use,and protect FroMbiological risk


Christmas wishes

The FAB committee would like towish everyone a Merry Christmasand we hope you relax and enjoyyour holiday break.

fab news dec 2011

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