The Aintree Grand National Video

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (part 2)

Patella luxation
Patella luxation is a condition that involves repetitive dislocation of the patella (knee cap). It is seen in all types of dog but is most common in toy and miniature breeds of dog, such as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. It is also thought to be more common in females than males. Symptoms include abnormal movement in the hind limbs, lameness, skipping, and an abnormal posture while sitting. Clinical symptoms can be seen in dogs as early as four moths old. It is usually diagnosed during a physical examination from a veterinarian and is then confirmed by an x-ray. It is thought that it can lead to ruptured cranial cruciate ligament in 15-20% of cases. Dogs with intermittent or permanent lameness will be considered for surgery but most cases will be treated with pain killers, physiotherapy, and/or weight management. 

Keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS)
KCS (also known as dry-eye syndrome) is a disease that affects the precorneal tear film and prevents the production of moisture in the eye. It results in the inflammation of the cornea and tissues in the eye due to dryness. It is thought to affect around 1% of dogs. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is one of the breeds more commonly affected, along with breeds such as pugs and the English bulldog. Symptoms include redness and yellow/green discharge. If untreated it will eventually result in a cloudy film over the cornea and scarring around the eye. It can cause blurred vision, or loss of vision completely and causes the eyes to be more prone to infection. It can be diagnosed by a schirmer tear test which checks whether there is adequate tear production in the eye. KCS can not be cured and requires life long medication. Two commonly used medicines are cyclosporine and tacrolimus which must be administered in the eyes once or twice a day, every day. 

Syringomyelia

Syringomyelia MRI
http://cavalierhealth.org/syringomyelia.htm

Chiari-like malformation (CM) is a condition seen in cavaliers causing their brain to be too big for their skull. The back part of their skull puts pressure on the brain and some of the brain is squeezed out the back of the skull (foramen magnum). This is known as syringomyelia when the skull partially blocks the flow of cerebrospinal fluid from the brain, which is pushed through the central spinal canal. This causes a variation in pressure and creates fluid-filled cavities within the spinal cord, known as syrinx.
It is thought that this produces a pins-and-needles feeling around the head, neck and spine, while in severe cases it is thought to cause a burning sensation. Symptoms include being sensitive to touch, walking/moving slowly, problems jumping, scratching, phantom scratching, biting hind legs, or weakness in limbs. The symptoms seem to be worse during exercise, when excited, at night, and can even worsen due to changes in weather. It is thought that this is because of the changes in atmospheric pressure. It can be diagnosed by an MRI scan but there is no cure. Some dogs may have surgery to remove the back parts of the skull which are putting pressure on the brain. This will result in an improvement in about 80% of dogs, but 50% of these will have symptoms recurring within 2 years. In the most severe cases the dog will have to be euthanised as the condition is so painful. It is most commonly found in cavaliers and other toy breeds such as pugs, chihuahuas and yorkshire terriers. Symptoms will usually be seen after 2 years of age and a study showed that about 70% of cavaliers will have syringomyelia by the age of seven. It is a progressive illness which means it will get worse with time. It may end up destroying parts of the spinal cord, and the dog's legs will become progressively weaker. Some medications may be given to help limit the pain and reduce symptoms. Dogs with syringomyelia prefer to have their head elevated so keeping food and water bowls raised can help make them more comfortable. 

Video of cavalier with syringomyelia: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UGp45LMCis

Animal Fat vs Palm Oil [£20 note] Video

Animal Fat vs Palm Oil [£20 note]

After a new £5 note was released fairly recently in the UK, there were a number of complaints among vegans and vegetarians due to the fact that they were made using animal fat. Now that a new £20 note is due to be released in 2020, the bank of England has considered using palm oil as a replacement. However, despite them doing this in an attempt to please the 134,000+ people who signed a petition against the use of animal fat, they have now sparked new outrage from people claiming that the use of palm oil will have a severely negative environmental impact.

Pro Animal Fat

Palm Oil deforestation

By using animal fat, no populations of wild animals or indigenous people will be affected as it is already a by-product from slaughterhouses. Animal fat is already used in thousands of products, in much larger quantities. According to the Humane Slaughter Association, approximately 2.6 million cattle are killed per year in the UK and yet the Bank of England estimates that the entire production of new £20 notes would only 'equate to the usage of tallow by-products from around 25-30 cattle'. An insignificant amount in comparison. Palm oil was responsible for 8% of the world's deforestation between 1990-2008. This act of deforestation releases large quantities of carbon pollution and is a major contributor to climate change. Deforestation for the sake of palm oil is responsible for bringing Sumatran orangutans to near extinction. It has also resulted in many indigenous people being brutally forced from their homes. Emma Keller, agriculture commodities manager at WWF, explained that palm oil comes at the 'expense of human rights and tropical forest'. 

Pro Palm Oil

Animal slaughter by-products

Although animal fat is found in thousands of products, people who oppose these products are able to avoid them. The £5 note makes it impossible for anybody to bypass the use of animal products. The use of palm oil will avoid offending a number of groups including vegans, vegetarians, hindus, sikhs and jains. The additional cost would only be £5 million over 10 years in addition to the £300 million already being spent. Similarly to animal fat, palm oil is already used in thousands of everyday products. The Bank has suggested that using palm oil as an alternative would only require 'one year's production of less than six hectares of palm oil plantation'. This would only be a tiny addition to the huge number of palm oil plantations that are already present. Despite speaking out against palm oil, Emma Keller stated that palm oil 'produces more oil per land than any other equivalent oil crop'. Using coconut oil would require more land space and could have a greater negative impact on the environment. Using animal fat would directly cost the lives of animals whereas the palm oil could be sourced from a sustainable plantation (RSPO). 

Why use either?

Doug Maw, who started the online petition against the use of animal fat in the £5 note, has also expressed disapproval for the idea of using palm oil, believing it is 'something they should avoid doing'. It would be possible for the bank to avoid using either of these products by sticking to the old design, however it has been shown that there are a number of advantages to polymer notes. It is thought that the polymer notes provide 'unique' anti-static and anti-slip properties and are more durable than paper notes. Professor David Solomon, developer of the first polymer note in 1988, also said that these notes are harder to forge, more hygienic, and don't require trees to be cut down. 

Only trace amounts of beef tallow are used (significantly less than 1%) and similar levels of palm oil would be required. Either way these notes will make an insignificant difference to the huge problems these products are already responsible for. 

More information:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/03/30/bank-england-backs-palm-oil-replace-animal-fat-plastic-20-note/
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/02/5-animal-fat-bank-note-british-vegetarians-being-stupid-says-inventor
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/new-5-notes-why-do-they-have-animal-fat-in-them-a7448106.html

Why should we avoid palm oil? 

http://www.ecowatch.com/why-is-palm-oil-so-bad-1881907014.html

Why should we avoid animal products? 

https://www.animalaid.org.uk/the-issues/our-campaigns/slaughter/