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Charity rehomes commercial hens to great effect
The hens are referred to as ‘the girls’ and have been effective in bringing people together and encouraging them to communicate.
Hens offer comfort to recovering addicts and homeless

A charity in Watford has rehomed four commercial hens, in an effort to provide comfort for those suffering from mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction and homelessness.

New Hope was founded 27 years ago with the aim of providing help and support to vulnerable individuals, guiding them through their recovery and offering a sense of wellbeing via their community market garden. In August 2015, the charity adopted four hens - Hope, Henrietta, Hatti and Harriet - from the British Hen Welfare Trust.

The hens are referred to as ‘the girls’ and have been effective in bringing people together and encouraging them to communicate, through the mutual connection of caring for the animals.

Ian Bond, community market garden supervisor, said: “They have been loved and cared for warmly by our service users, been the subject of a poem written during one of our poetry sessions and have been used as a way of encouraging wider engagement for our gardening workshops for those not drawn to gardening but who have a love for animals.

“Our girls are very well loved by almost everyone who spends time at the garden. As well as providing opportunities for nurturing and care, they offer a lightness and relief from the traumas of homelessness, substance abuse and mental ill health. They also provide a means of making us a closer team by helping service users, who are often nervous of others, to interact with each other through a common interest.

“The hens - as they go about their days, weathering the winter, always happy for a bit of sunlight and the chance to have a dust bath - provide a reassuring presence which encourages expressions of love, something vitally important for the healing journey of recovery.”

According to Ian, many of the people staying with New Hope find the hens amusing and will often sit and chat to the hens, when they’re alone.

For more information about giving a happy home to hens, visit www.bhwt.org.uk

Image courtesy of the British Hen Welfare Trust

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.