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EmailIphone Application    Posted: 14th January 2013
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Free equine nutrition course launched
Online course attracts 10,000 participants

 University of Edinburgh's Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies has announced a new five-week equine nutrition course.

Lasting for five weeks the course will cover many aspects of equine nutrition, such as anatomy and physiology of the gastrointestinal tract, and the dietary management of horses and ponies affected by nutrition-related disorders. 10,000 people have already signed up for the course, which begins at the end of the month.

This course forms part of the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) which are delivered via the Coursera partnership, a network of leading international universities which offer short undergraduate level online courses for free. The initiative will give participants a taste of higher education for free.

The Royal Dick School is the first Vet School to launch a course as part of this programme. The University of Edinburgh is also the first in the UK to join the Coursera initiative, and are offering six courses in total.

"Students who participate in these free online taster courses at the University of Edinburgh will have access to an array of quality materials provided by world class academics who are leaders in their field." says Dr Jo-Anne Murray, director of taught postgraduate programmes and e-learning at Royal Dick School of Veterinary Studies.

Across 43 courses, more than 1.5 million people have enrolled on courses associated with Coursera. The participating universities have taught more than 650,000 students from 190 countries.

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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.