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Leading vets and scientists appointed to AWF board of trustees
From L to R: Justine Shotton, Diedre Carson, Charlotte Burn, Romain Pizzi.

Experts will encourage debate around animal welfare issues

Veterinary charity Animal Welfare Foundation has appointed four of the UK’s leading veterinary surgeons and animal welfare scientists to its board of trustees.

Joining nine other experts on the board are zoo animal and wildlife specialists, Romain Pizzi and Justine Shotton; equine vet Deidre Carson; and biologist Charlotte Burn. Trustees play a key role in ensuring that AWF continues to improve on animal welfare by supporting veterinary education, funding research and encouraging debate animal welfare issues.

Welcoming the new trustees, AWF Chair of Trustees Chris Laurence said: “I am delighted to welcome Romain, Justine, Deidre and Charlotte to the AWF board. They bring with them an enormous range of knowledge, skills and expertise, which will be critical to helping us advance our mission and continue to fund quality research, support veterinary education and encourage debate on animal welfare issues.”

Former British Equine Veterinary Association president Deidre Carson commented: “I am passionate about animal welfare, conservation and biodiversity and believe that vets should be leading the way in improving the way animals and our environment are managed.  I am looking forward to working with other enthusiastic and knowledgeable people to progress the work of AWF and to see the results of those efforts.”

Dr Shotton, veterinary services manager at Marwell Zoo, said: “I believe that AWF can make a real and positive difference to the lives of millions of animals, and I want to be a part of that. I’m looking forward to being able to contribute my skills and experience to help progress our understanding of animals to better improve their welfare. I’m also looking forward to engaging in debate around animal welfare issues in order to identify ways forward with initially complex and challenging issues.”

Image (C) AWF.

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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA webinar explores sheep tailing and castration

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is to host a free webinar on the castration and tail docking of lambs.

The webinar, 'Understanding the tailing and castration consultation: A guide for sheep farmers', will be hosted online on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 7.30pm.

It comes during a government consultation into the methods used for these procedures. Farmers are encouraged to engage before the consultation period closes on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The webinar offers clear and actionable guidance to support farmers to contribute meaningfully to the consultation and prepare for potential changes.

On the panel will be former SVS president Kate Hovers, farmer and vet Ann Van Eetvelt and SRUC professor in Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences Cathy Dwyer. Each panel member will utilise their own specialism and expertise to evaluate risks and outcomes to sheep farming.

Find out more about the webinar on the NSA website.