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Feline charity unveils major upgrade plans
The Chelmsford centre's resident cats will continue to be cared for at a nearby location.

Cats Protection to renovate its Chelmsford Adoption Centre.

Exciting new plans to upgrade a feline rehoming centre in Chelmsford have been revealed by national charity, Cats Protection.

A major renovation to the organisation’s Chelmsford Adoption Centre will see the creation of 10 new temperature-controlled admission pens, bringing the facility up to 50 pens, including 16 maternity and isolation pens. 

Volunteers and staff wil also benefit from improved working areas, greater storage space and better accessibility for visitors.

“We have seen an ongoing need for Cats Protection’s services through our Chelmsford Adoption Centre and neighbouring branches,” explained Guy Chadwick, Cats Protection’s regional centre operations manager.

“This investment is part of our ongoing commitment to the future of the centre and will enable us to provide the best possible care for cats and their owners in the local area.”

The Chelmsford Adoption Centre rehomes around 420 cats every year and helps many more through trap-neuter-return programmes for feral cats and assisted neutering to support the local community.

Following the upgrade, the new Centre promises to incorporate learnings from across Cats Protection’s network of 37 centres 'to deliver an upscaled level of cat care excellence and provide a source of ongoing assistance, emergency support and cat welfare information'.

The Centre will close during construction, and staff and volunteers have already begun to reduce the number of cats on-site in preparation for the work. The cats will be cared for at a nearby location.

“We look forward to providing more opportunities for people from across the local community to join our existing team of cat-loving volunteers and staff when we re-open later in 2022,” said Guy.

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Reporting service for dead wild birds updated

News Story 1
 The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.

The new version allows those reporting a dead bird to drop a pin on a map when reporting the location. It also includes a wider range of wild bird species groups to select from when describing the bird.

The online service, which helps APHA to monitor the spread of diseases such as avian influenza, can be accessed here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NI chief vet urges bluetongue vigilance

Northern Ireland's chief veterinary officer (CVO) has urged farmers to be vigilant for signs of bluetongue, after the Animal and Plant Health Agency warned there was a very high probability of further cases in Great Britain.

There have been 126 confirmed cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 in England since November 2023, with no cases reported in Northern Ireland. The movement of live ruminants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is currently suspended.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the virus is most likely to enter Northern Ireland through infected animals or germplasm (semen or ova) being imported.

Brian Dooher, Northern Ireland's CVO, said: "Surveillance for this disease within Northern Ireland has been increased to assist with detection at the earliest opportunity which will facilitate more effective control measures."

Farmers should report any suspicions of the disease to their private veterinary practitioner, the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or their local DAERA Direct Veterinary Office.