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Battersea dogs guzzle 50 tonnes of food
Dog eating
Battersea dogs wolfed down more than 42,000 tins of wet food last year.
Hungry hounds eat the equivalent weight of 12 elephants per year

Lonely hounds at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home wolfed down nearly 50 tonnes of food in 2013 alone, the charity reports. It is the equivalent of four double decker buses, 12 elephants or 660 great Danes.

Battersea fed more than 5,000 dogs last year, getting through 42,384 tins of wet food and 28,672kg of dry food. Not forgetting the 134,000 poo bags staff used to clean up the mess!

Likewise, Battersea cats munched their way through 58,944 pouches of cat food and 1,264kg of cat biscuits.

On average, 13 dogs and eight cats arrived at the rescue home every day in 2013. The charity receives about 1,000 calls each month from people who can no longer care for or afford their pets.

In addition, another 3,451 stray dogs and cats arrived at the charity last year after they were found tied up or wandering the streets.

Battersea recently launched an appeal to raise 1.9m to help build new state-of-the-art kennels for its canine residents.

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
BBC Radio 4 documentary addresses corporate fees

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates has released a documentary exploring how corporate-owned veterinary practices may be inflating bills to increase profit.

Released on 15 April, 'What's Happening To Your Vet Bills?' revealed the policies which many corporate groups have in place to increase their profits. This included targets and upgrades which veterinary teams are tasked with meeting on a regular basis.

It also features Anrich Vets, an independently-owned practice based in Wigan. Following the case of Staffordshire terrier Benjy, who is diagnosed with a tumour, the documentary shares how the team were able to offer contextualised care and advice to make the procedure as affordable as possible for his owners.

The documentary can be heard on demand on BBC iPlayer.