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Rare bat project receives £700,000 funding
Bat
Greater horseshoes are one of the UK’s biggest bats with a wingspan of almost 40cm.

Lottery boost for Devon Greater Horseshoe Bats

A rare bat project has been awarded over £700,000 of National Lottery funding to help secure the long-term future of one of the rarest animals in northern Europe.

The Devon Greater Horseshoe Bat Project, led by the conservation charity Devon Wildlife Trust,  received a grant of £707,000 via the Heritage Lottery Fund to restore habitats and protect 11 "priority roosts".

Project manager Ed Parr Ferris told the University of Exeter: “We’re delighted to have gained this generous support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The greater horseshoe bat is a species that has seen its European population crash in the last 100 years, and has disappeared from more than half its British range."

Greater horseshoes are one of the UK’s biggest bats with a wingspan of almost 40cm. Once common across southern England, changes in land-use and a move away from cattle-grazed pastures and hay meadows has led to their loss from much of the countryside.

The project’s ultimate goal is to restore the landscapes that the bats need to travel through and feed in. Working alongside farmers and local communities, it will provide advice and assistance to manage, restore and create the networks of habitats this species needs.

Ed Parr Ferris said: “Cattle-grazed pastures, wildflower-rich meadows, hedges, woodland edges, orchards and streams all play a key part in the bat’s complex lives. They use these landscape features to navigate and travel safely and as hunting grounds to find their favourite prey: moths and beetles.

"The project will work with local farmers and communities to improve and conserve these features. This will be to the benefit not only of greater horseshoe bats but also Devon’s wealth of other wildlife and our treasured landscapes.”

The 11 priority areas are in the Avon Valley, Berry Head, Branscombe, Braunton, Bovey Tracey, Buckfastleigh, Chudleigh, Tamar Vallet, Dartmouth Harbertonford and Southleigh.

Anyone living close to one of the areas and who wishes to help should contact the project’s community engagement officer, Helen Parr on 01392 279244 or by email on hparr@devonwildlifetrust.org.

For more information visit www.devonbatproject.org

Image (C) Wikimedia Commons/Marie Jullion

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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. 

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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.