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Fire brigade rescues escaped iguana
Iguanas are excellent climbers.
The pet had escaped through a cat flap.

The Lincolnshire fire brigade rescued a pet iguana from high up in a tree after it escaped from its home.

Einstein the iguana was missing for 24 hours from his home in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. He had escaped through the microchip-activated cat flap after his owner had forgotten to reset it.

The day after his escape, Einstein was spotted on a branch high up in a neighbour’s tree. The RSPCA notified Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue, who sent out crews from two stations to rescue the pet.

With the help of a local tree surgeon, the fire brigade managed to bring Einstein down safely and restore him to his owner.

Horncastle Fire Station posted on Facebook: “A busy day for Horncastle crew today, and then we finished off with a small animal rescue, but to our surprise not what we were expecting.

“We got to meet the lovely Einstein the Iguana who got himself stuck up a very large tree. Thanks to Louth Fire Station and our amazing local tree surgeon for some assistance we managed to safely get him back down.”

Einstein’s owner Stuart Hoyle told the BBC: “Einstein considers himself the head of the household and he's always up to something. He's sometimes very clever and sometimes quite daft.”

Mr Hoyle revealed that after the rescue, Einstein returned to his favourite spot on the back of the sofa and ate a bowl of dandelions.

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Antibiotic Amnesty survey opens

News Story 1
 The Responsible Use of Medicines Alliance - Companion Animal and Equine (RUMA - CA&E) has launched a survey which seeks to measure the success of this year's Antibiotic Amnesty campaign.

Its results will help the group to calculate how many unused or out-of-date antibiotics were returned as part of the campaign throughout November. Practices are also asked how they engaged with clients to raise awareness of the issue.

Participating practices can enter a prize draw to win up to 100 in vouchers for taking part. Further prizes from BSAVA and Webinar Vet will be available for practices with the best input.

The survey takes a few minutes to complete and will be running throughout December. It can be accessed via this link

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Bluetongue cases lead to restricted zone extension

Following the detection of new cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 (BTV-3), the restricted zone has been extended to include additional parts of Hampshire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and North Yorkshire, as well as Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and part of Dorset.

The zone now covers 28 counties and unitary authorities in England. As of 16 December, 185 cases of BTV-3 have been confirmed in England and Wales during the current vector period.

Bluetongue is a notifiable disease. Suspected cases must be reported on 03000 200 301 in England or 03003 038 268 in Wales. In Scotland, suspected cases should be reported to the local field services office. Suspected cases in Northern Ireland should be reported to the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or by contacting the local DAERA Direct Veterinary Office.

A map of the area where movement restrictions apply can be found here.