Renowned lecturers could be engaged for the event, and a varied program could be compiled also in this year. Eight interesting lectures in total will give the guests interesting views into different topics. With the seminar, the organizer aims at resident veterinarians who co-operate with stores within the specialized pet trade and wish to engage more deeply in the care and and diagnostics of aquarium and pond fish, as well as official veterinarians who control specialized pet stores. It is intended to enhance the co-operation between the specialized pet trade and veterinarians this way, and to make the veterinarians aware of current problems in the specialized pet trade. The lecturer group therefore includes both expert veterinarians as well as experts from the specialized pet trade with many years of experience in their areas.
TVT* board member Prof. Dr. Thomas Blaha will hold the first lecture of the fifth veterinarian seminar and present his conclusions from the EXOPET study. An unpleasant but nevertheless important topic will follow: the emergency killing of ornamental fish and ornamental aquatic invertebrates, about which Dr. Dirk W. Kleingeld (LAVES Hannover, chairman of the German section of the EAFP) will speak. After a short break, which will also serve for professional exchange, Dr. Stefan K. Hetz of the Humboldt University in Berlin will hold a lecture about the topic “Morphological knowledge in aquarium care: Livebearers – labyrinth fish”. Afterwards, Dr. Karin Grassl of the Aquazoo Düsseldorf will take the guests on a “veterinarian dive into a coral reef” in her lecture.The second half of the seminar day will begin with a combined lecture by Dr. Stefan K. Hetz and the ornamental fish wholesaler Peter Merz. They will present fish behavior judgement in theory (by Dr. Stefan Hetz) and practice (by Peter Merz). Afterwards, Dr. Helmut Wedekind, director of the Institute for Fishery of the Bavarian State Institute for Agriculture, will report on the keeping requirements as well as current health problems in angelfish. Afterwards, Peter Merz will explain how to catch fish gently and introduce them correctly in the trade. The closing lecture will be “Crayfish, shrimps and snails – keeping and requirements” by seminar director Dieter Untergasser.The veterinarian seminar is a recognized further education training according to § 10 of the ATF statutes with a program consisting of expert lectures followed by question and discussion rounds. In case of interest, it is also possible to take part in an excursion to the aquarium of the Cologne zoo with an expert guide (without ATF).You will find further information about the event in the seminar brochure.
* Tierärztliche Vereinigung für Tierschutz e.V. (TVT) = Veterinarian Association for Animal Protection