Weekend Rounds - 10.16

Hi ,

We feel it's our civic duty to remind you that it's too early for your Christmas decorations. Can we get through Halloween first, please?With that off our chest, let's dive in:

🐦 What is going on with Avian Influenza?

🧠 Breaking down brain surgery on a bear

😃 Social media to make you smile

🚀 Quick hits

We're all about brightening your day with Weekend Rounds so we try our best to avoid the old news trope that 'if it bleeds it leads', but unfortunately our top story this week was too important to ignore. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has released a report that concludes that the latest outbreak of bird flu is the most serious epidemic in Europe on record. Over 47.7 million animals have been killed over the last 12 months. There are two categories of Avian influenza A viruses: low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) A viruses, and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A viruses, which are differentiated by the molecular characteristics of a virus and the virus’ ability to cause disease and mortality in chickens in a laboratory setting. If you're looking for a deep dive on the differences, check out the CDC and this super fun 64-page report by the World Health Organization. Avian flu has absolutely devastated farms and farmers, including Emmanuel the Emu who recently went viral for interrupting videos with his adorable pecking at the camera. Taylor Blake, the hobby farmer and content creator who cares for Emmanuel shared a heartbreaking Twitter thread about the effects of Avian Flu on her farm:

Trust us when you we tell you that this video is worth your time. Wildlife veterinarian Dr. Romain Pizzi walks you through the steps he took to perform brain surgery on a bear in Laos, unique surgery on a seal, and the first keyhole appendix surgery on an orangutang.

We led the newsletter with a serious bummer so it's only right that we try to make it up to you with some good vibes that came across our timelines this week:

Katmai National Park has crowned the fattest bear of 2022 during #FatBearWeek, as voted on by fans of fat bears from across the world. The contest received over 1 million votes, which ultimately named Bear #747 is a back-to-back champion! And let us be the first to confirm... that bear is fat. 

Niall Harbison, who is doing inspiring work rescuing dogs in Thailand, recently went viral for rescuing two more cuties from the side of the road. I mean, just look at those little milk moustaches 😍

His profile is full of some heartwarming content

on Instagram.

An unexpected visitor crashed the MLB postseason, causing a very welcomed delay in the action. 

[Insert joke here about a Goose making the playoffs, while your favorite team could not]

Check it out on Instagram.

While you're surfing the socials, you might as well follow Obi if you're not already:

Here are some stories we're following this week from around the veterinary world and animal kingdom:In pictures: The veterinarian saving Egypt's abused and injured horses [Middle East Eye]

Ex-head veterinarian at CVS cites culture rift in resigning [VIN] Maintoba develops criteria to address veterinarian shortage [The Dauphin Herald]What spiking US veterinary prices reveal about inflation [AP News]

Influx of emotional support animals prompts Michigan legislation [The Detroit News]Animal populations experience average decline of almost 70% since 1970 [The Guardian]

U.S. appoints first diplomat for plants and animals [Washington Post] Why Are Food System Folks Fighting Against More Humane Animal Conditions at the Supreme Court? [Food Tank]

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