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Birthday party provides enrichment

Zoo's cheetah cubs tear into meaty presents

A birthday party has been thrown at Whipsnade Zoo, part of the London Zoological Society (ZSL), on behalf of its resident cheetah cubs.

Celebrating their first birthday, the six cubs were given wrapped presents full of meaty treats that they tore into, along with a cardboard birthday cake.

The birthday party was part of the zoo's enrichment programme for each of its animals, which encourages them to build a curious, playful nature and actively hunt for their food as they would in the wild.

Rosie Scott, a zookeeper at Whipsnade, said: "It's not often we get to celebrate six birthdays in one day, so we wanted to do something special for the cubs.

"They love investigating new things and had great fun working out how to reach the food inside their presents."

The six Northeastern African cheetah cubs were the second litter for mother Dubai and the second to ever be born in the UK.

Image courtesy of ZSL

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

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News Shorts
RCVS pays tribute to well-loved equine vet

The RCVS and the Riding Establishments Subcommittee has paid tribute to well-loved veterinary surgeon and riding establishment inspector, Rebecca Hamilton-Fletcher MRCVS.

Linda Belton MRCVS, RCVS President, said: "I, along with my colleagues on the RESC, RCVS Council, RCVS Standards Committee, as well as RCVS staff, was very saddened to hear of the sudden death of Rebecca, or Becca as we knew her, last week.

"She was a true advocate for equine welfare and in her many years on the RESC worked to continually improve the quality and consistency of riding establishment inspections, all in the interests of enhanced horse welfare and rider safety."