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Vet students win grant to safeguard hedgehogs
The project builds on previous measures to develop the Easter Bush site into a hedgehog-friendly haven.
Funding to protect wildlife at University of Edinburgh's Easter Bush campus
 
Veterinary students at the University of Edinburgh have won a £2,000 Student Experience Grant to develop the Easter Bush Campus into a haven for hedgehogs and other wildlife. 

Sarah Batiste, Niamh Duthie and Niamh Kinch will use the funding – made possible by donations to the university - to survey the site and establish where improvements might be best made. 

Sarah Batiste commented: “We are extremely lucky to work and study in a campus that is surrounded by green and forested landscapes and home to significant biodiversity. We would like to create spaces that foster and promote this by supporting dwindling hedgehog populations.”

Among the planned improvements include safe water sources, ramps in ponds and increased wildflower coverage. The team also hopes to install an on-site wildlife camera to measure the impact of their efforts and signs to alert drivers of hedgehog populations.

The project, expected to take around a year, builds on previous measures to develop the campus into a place where hedgehogs can safely feed, shelter and breed. 

In February, the University of Edinburgh scooped a silver accreditation as a hedgehog-friendly campus, and a 2020 survey revealed hedgehog footprints in temporary tunnels around Easter Bush Campus. 

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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.