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Chicken ownership on the rise, survey reveals
"People worried about food supplies and saw chicken ownership as a source of fresh food" - Ben Braithwaite.
More people moving to chicken ownership as a sustainable food source during pandemic.

There is a growing trend in chicken ownership in the UK, with up to 200,000 new chicken owners appearing year on year since 2018, according to new research.

A survey by Cambridge-based firm ChickenGuard found that in 2019, there were 1,028,000 chicken owners in the UK, rising to 1,338,000 in 2020. The organisation says this figure has further risen during the coronavirus pandemic, as more people moved to chicken ownership as a sustainable food source.

Ben Braithwaite from ChickenGuard comments: “We have been closely monitoring the rise in chicken ownership over the last couple of years and the pet survey has really shone some light on the growing trend in countries all over the world. The pandemic has brought more households into the fold as people worried about food supplies and saw chicken ownership as also a source of fresh food.

“That, alongside the increase in celebrity keepers, has made chickens more popular than the hamster, guinea pig and the previously most popular feathered friend, the budgie.”

The British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT) has also reported an uptick in the number of people wanting to re-home chickens during the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking to Sky News earlier this year, BHWT founder Jane Howorth said that the charity's waiting list had grown to record numbers.

"Although this is typically a busy time of year for us as the spring sunshine emerges and people become more interested in outdoor activities, without doubt, COVID-19 has increased interest further still," she said. “A lot of people have been thinking about keeping hens for some time, others simply want to have a supply of fresh eggs at the bottom of the garden."

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RCVS Knowledge appoints Veterinary Evidence editor-in-chief

News Story 1
 RCVS Knowledge has welcomed Professor Peter Cockcroft as editor-in-chief for Veterinary Evidence.

A world-renowned expert in evidence-based veterinary medicine, Prof Cockcroft will lead the strategic development and editorial quality of the open-access journal. He was previously in the role from 2017-2020.

Katie Mantell, CEO of RCVS Knowledge, said: "We are excited about the extensive knowledge of evidence-based veterinary medicine and clinical veterinary research that Peter brings, and we look forward to working with him over this next phase of the journal's development." 

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News Shorts
CVS Group hit by cyber attack

CVS Group, which owns more than 450 veterinary practices in the UK, has been hit by a cyber attack.

In a statement, the group said the incident involved unauthorised external access to a limited number of its IT systems. As soon as the attack was discovered, the group took its IT systems temporarily offline, causing 'considerable operational disruption'.

It has warned that the security steps taken and ongoing plans to move its operational systems and IT infrastructure to the Cloud are likely to have an ongoing impact over a number of weeks.

Due to the risk that personal information was accessed, CVS has informed the Information Commissioner's Office. The company is working with third party consultants to investigate the incident.