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New strategy launches to support the needs of bees
Bumblebee
The government is launching the National Pollinator Strategy to support bees and other pollinators.
National Pollinator Strategy will support bees and other pollinators

The government is launching the National Pollinator Strategy to support bees and other pollinators.

Bees and pollinators are vital for fertilising plants so they produce fruits and seeds. Organisations such as The National Trust, Highways Agency and Network Rail, which manage over 800.000 hectares of land in England, have signed up to the strategy and pledged to take actions such as allowing gross to grow longer and planting more bee-friendly wild flowers.

Environment secretary Elizabeth Truss said: "As much as one third of the food we eat is pollinated by bees - from apples and pears to strawberries to beans. We now estimate the value of insects pollinating our crops and plants amounts to hundreds of millions of pounds.

That's why we are doing everything we can to help them thrive. Not everyone can become a beekeeper, but everyone from major landowners to window-box gardeners can play their part in boosting pollinators."

Defra will be setting up bee hives on the roof of their building in London and some supermarkets have already begun to distribute bee-friendly flower seeds to their customers.

Railway embankments, forests and motorway verges will be used to create bee and insect friendly paradises as part of the major new strategy to protect the 1500 species of pollinators in England.

In addition, Defra have announced the first ever wild-pollinator and farm wildlife package, which will see more funding made available to famers and landowners that take steps to protect pollinators through the new Countryside Stewardship Scheme.

For more information about how to help pollinators, visit: http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/Bees-needs. 

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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. 

Click here for more...
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."