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Nottingham vets rise to bake-off challenge
Students and staff from Nottingham Vet School organised the charity bake-off to raise money for Vets in the Community.
Profiter-sheep and penguins highlight important issues 

Sweet-toothed staff and students from Nottingham Vet School rose to the annual charity 'Cake-Off' challenge last week, cooking up an array of creative bakes with an animal-science theme.

Now in its seventh year, the competition is organised by students and staff from the Sutton Bonington Campus. To date, the event has raised £500 for Vets in the Community, a Nottingham Vet School project that helps homeless people and their pets.

This year, climate change and its effect on wildlife was a strong theme. A Madeira cake called ‘Survivors’ displaying a group of penguins on melting ice won overall winner and winner of the Dynasties’ Desserts: David Attenborough category.

The Grossest Cake award went to a cake showing fly strike in rabbits - aptly named ‘Who didn’t check Roger Rabbit’. In spite of its unpleasant looks, judges also deemed this cake to be the best-tasting bake of the competition!

A sheep made out of profiteroles called ‘profiter-sheep’ scooped first prize in the Farm-to-Fork category, while a bra-shaped cake named ‘It’s a Woman’s World’ topped the Baking Bad News current affairs category.

“This year’s cake-off was a great day! We had brilliant, hilarious and inventive entries as well as some cakes highlighting important issues,” said Sarah Febry, a fourth-year veterinary student and one of the organisers of the event.

“An example of this is the It’s a Woman’s World cake which was inspired by the current gender pay gap in the veterinary industry despite the majority of its members being female!

“We are so proud to have raised this money for Vets in the Community who provide free veterinary care for the animals belonging to the homeless and vulnerably housed in Nottingham.”

Nottingham Vet School is currently in the latter stages of funding to buy a specially-fitted trailer to serve as a mobile clinic. For more information about the project, and to make a donation, visit the Vets in the Community JustGiving page.

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Reporting service for dead wild birds updated

News Story 1
 The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.

The new version allows those reporting a dead bird to drop a pin on a map when reporting the location. It also includes a wider range of wild bird species groups to select from when describing the bird.

The online service, which helps APHA to monitor the spread of diseases such as avian influenza, can be accessed here

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NI chief vet urges bluetongue vigilance

Northern Ireland's chief veterinary officer (CVO) has urged farmers to be vigilant for signs of bluetongue, after the Animal and Plant Health Agency warned there was a very high probability of further cases in Great Britain.

There have been 126 confirmed cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 in England since November 2023, with no cases reported in Northern Ireland. The movement of live ruminants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is currently suspended.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the virus is most likely to enter Northern Ireland through infected animals or germplasm (semen or ova) being imported.

Brian Dooher, Northern Ireland's CVO, said: "Surveillance for this disease within Northern Ireland has been increased to assist with detection at the earliest opportunity which will facilitate more effective control measures."

Farmers should report any suspicions of the disease to their private veterinary practitioner, the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or their local DAERA Direct Veterinary Office.