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Drive to rehome forgotten felines
Lily
Have a heart for a black cat this Halloween

GIVE black cats a chance is the message from Cats Protection in its third annual drive to encourage more people to adopt monochrome felines.

National Black Cat Day is being held on October 31 to encourage people to offer a home to an unwanted black or black-and-white moggy.

Around half of the 6,200 cats in Cats Protection’s care are black or black and white and, on average, each of these cats waits around a week longer to find a new home.

Jackie May, Cats Protection’s information and education manager, said: "It’s sad black and black-and-white moggies are homeless for longer so we wanted to give them a chance to shine and show that fur colour is only skin deep. At Cats Protection we are standing up for the ‘under-cat’ and asking people to consider taking a black or black-and-white cat into their home.

“Once favoured by storytellers in tales of magic and witchcraft, black cats have developed an undeserved bad reputation that is still bubbling away."

This National Black Cat Day, Cats Protection is inviting people to share their black and black-and-white cat stories, photos and videos on its Facebook page.
 
Over 250 of the photos that have already been submitted have been used to create a new poster which will be used by the charity to promote adopting a black or black-and-white cat.

For more information visit www.facebook.com/catsprotection

Image shows Lilly, who is at Cats Protection’s Dereham Adoption Centre in East Anglia. She is 11 years old and came to the centre as her owner was emigrating.

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.