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Charity workers and scientists honoured by the Queen
obe
Two charity workers received MBEs for services to animal welfare.
Recipients of the Queen's New Year's Honours revealed

Numerous charity workers and scientists have been recognised for services to animal health and welfare in the Queen's New Year's Honours 2015, including Professor Venugopal Nair - head of the Avian Viral Diseases Programme at the Pirbright Institute.

Professor Nair was awarded an OBE for his involvement with the programme, which is currently focused on viruses that cause avian influenza, infectious bronchitis and Marek's disease. Working in partnership with vaccine producers, the project aims to develop more effective vaccines.

The founder of The Swan Sanctuary in Shepperton was one of two charity workers to receive an MBE - Dorothy Beeson was recognised for her work rescuing and rehabilitating swans.

Anne Owen, founder of the North Clwyd Animal Rescue Centre also received an MBE for services to animal health and welfare.

Among those to receive BEMs were:
  • Valerie Margaret Allen - for voluntary services to Rider and Equine Safety
  • Ruth Boyes - for services to the charity Pets as Therapy
  • Lance Cruse - for services to the protection of endangered species in the course of his work as a Border Force officer
  • Patricia Anne Dobbin and Louise Greer - for services to the charity Riding for the Disabled
  • Elizabeth Edwards, a research scientist at the John Innes Centre and volunteer for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust - for services to the environment and the public understanding of science
  • Trevor Llewellyn Richards, lately capital project liaison officer at the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine - for services to biomedical research and the welfare of animals in research

 

Image Wikimedia Commons/Robert Pummel/CC BY 2.5

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Annual submission deadline small pet animal exemptions

News Story 1
 Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.

Submitting this annual return ensures continued compliance with regulatory requirements for products marketed without a full Marketing Authorisation. The exemption specifically applies to products intended for animals, cage birds, terrarium animals, small rodents, ferrets and rabbits.

For further details and submission guidelines, visit the gov.uk website.  

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News Shorts
Bluetongue RZ extended across Scotland

The Scottish Government has announced an extension to a Bluetongue Restricted Zone that is in place in south-west Scotland.

From 3 October, the Restricted Zone will be extended to cover the whole of Scotland. The Animal, Plant and Health Agency (APHA) says this is in response to further disease spread, as well as simplify trading conditions ahead of the autumn.

Since the whole country will share a disease status, it will no longer be necessary to have a movement license to move susceptible livestock around the country. Restrictions on germinal products remain.

As of 1 October 2026, there were 1,979 cases of BTV-3 in England, 389 cases in Wales and 40 cases in Scotland.