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Animal Trust receives community interest status
Animal Trust provides free face-to-face consultations for sick and injured animals.
Group provides a not-for-profit service for sick and injured animals.

Not-for-profit group Animal Trust has become the first veterinary company in the UK to receive community interest status (CIC).

Animal Trust, which has nine surgeries across the UK, maintains its not-for-profit ethos by providing free face-to-face consultations for sick and injured animals, 'no matter who they are, or where they come from'.

Animal Trust founder, Owen Monie, said: “The CIC status is an important milestone for us, as it locks our commitment in law where our priority always is the health and care of the animals we see in each of our communities."

A CIC is a type of limited company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders. Once established, the public benefit is protected in law and the social benefit can never be lost.

Owen continued: “I originally set up Animal Trust to provide a not-for-profit service to focus on improving the welfare of animals, and to help their owners as many struggle to afford private practices.

“Since we first opened, the demand for our services has only continued to grow, proving how important it is for pets to be able to access good veterinary care, and that pet ownership should not just be accessible for the wealthy.”

Animal Trust first opened in Bolton in 2012 and has since established surgeries in West Midlands, North Wales, Cheshire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, and Yorkshire.

The group provides an array of veterinary facilities including general practice care, dentistry, complex surgery, orthopaedics, CT scanning, imaging, hydrotherapy, physiotherapy, 24/7 in-patient and emergency care, and on-site laboratories.

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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.