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British Airways announces launch of new animal welfare policy
British Airways and Born Free have joined forces to create a new animal welfare policy.

Airline removes all attractions featuring captive wild animals from its website

British Airways Holidays (BA) has announced the launch of a new animal welfare policy that will allow customers to make fully informed decisions when booking holidays. 


Developed in partnership with international wildlife charity Born Free, the policy outlines BA’s policy concerning wildlife. It will see the travel company commit to never promoting the captivity of wild animals and discouraging its hotel partners from doing so.

Since the launch of the policy, all attractions featuring captive wild animals have been removed from BA’s website. While the airline will continue to offer rooms in hotels that keep wild animals onsite, customers will be unable to book any tickets for animal attractions.


BA notes these hotels will be labelled clearly as keeping wild animals onsite to allow customers to make an informed decision when booking their holiday.

“Our customers tell us they have concerns about wild animals being kept in captivity, and increasingly see animal performances in particular as outdated,” explained Claire Bentley, managing director of British Airways Holidays.


“We are delighted to have worked with Born Free to develop our new strategy which allows our customers to make more informed choices and we are contacting all our hotel and attraction partners about our new approach.”
 
The policy comes as Born Free launches its new local alert system, allowing customers the opportunity to report captive animal suffering. Supported by British Airways Holidays, Raise the Red Flag will also raise awareness of destinations animal lovers may want to avoid, both in the UK and overseas.
 
“We are delighted that as part of our new and exciting partnership, British Airways Holidays has committed to supporting both the creation of a new sanctuary space for rescued wild animals and to support our new initiative Raise the Red Flag,” said Dr. Chris Draper, head of animal welfare and captivity, at Born Free.
 
Raise the Red Flag allows members of the public to make Born Free aware of captive wild animal welfare concerns while equipping people with the tools to take action. It’s the first time any major travel company has truly supported an active initiative to help wild animals and we applaud British Airways Holidays for taking this bold stance.”

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Practices urged to audit neutering data

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has called on vet practices to audit their post-operative neutering outcomes.

It follows the release of the 2024 NASAN benchmarking report, which collates data from neutering procedures performed on dogs, cats and rabbits.

The benchmarking report enables practices in the UK and Ireland to compare their post-operative outcomes to the national average. This includes the rate of patients lost to follow-up, which in 2024 increased to 23 per cent.

Anyone from the practice can submit the data using a free template. The deadline for next report is February 2026.

Visit the RCVS Knowledge website to complete an audit. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
New guidance for antibiotic use in rabbits

New best practice guidance on the responsible use of antibiotics in rabbits has been published by the BSAVA in collaboration with the Rabbit Welfare Association & Fund (RWA&F).

The guidance is free and has been produced to help veterinary practitioners select the most appropriate antibiotic for rabbits. It covers active substance, dose and route of administration all of which are crucial factors when treating rabbits owing to the risk of enterotoxaemia.

For more information and to access the guide, visit the BSAVALibrary.