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Independent vet group to fundraise for rescue dog charity
The NSARDA works to train members of the public and their dogs to become search and rescue teams.
Pennard Vets aims to raise over £2,500 for NSARDA.

Pennard Vets, an independent veterinary group in Kent, has set its sights on raising funds for the National Search And Rescue Dog Association (NSARDA).

The group’s veterinary team is planning fundraising events for at least the next 12 months, with the goal of raising over £2,500 for their local branch.

The NSARDA works to train members of the public and their dogs to become qualified search and rescue teams. Once trained, these teams are able to assist with searching for people who are missing, trapped, stranded and even deceased.

The charity works with search dog associations across the UK, including Kent Search and Rescue.

Kent Search and Rescue works with local emergency services to find high risk and vulnerable missing persons, where there is often a threat to life.

Pennard Vets has eight practices across Kent, including Maidstone, Langley Park and Sevenoaks. In 2021, it became the largest practice group in the world to transfer into employee ownership, within an employee ownership trust (EOT).

All 155 employees are now owners and stakeholders in the business, and voted to choose NSARDA as their charity for at least 12 months.

Imogen Birch, from Pennard Vets, said: “NSARDA do amazing work and because everyone at Pennard Vets loves anything with four legs, voting them as our chosen charity was an easy thing to do. The charity also hosted several members of our team at a recent training day, which gave us the opportunity to see first-hand how they work and the difference they make.”

“We all came away feeling reassured that we have such a dedicated team of search professionals in Kent. We’re now organising all types of events to support them, including a bake sale, a CaniCross run, which is a sponsored run with a dog, and lots of fun games and competitions.

“The way that our entire team is embracing the challenge is fantastic to see.”

Stuart Kenny, chairman of the NSARDA, said: “We’re entirely self-reliant and dependent on fundraising to train new volunteers and provide equipment to our team.

“It typically costs £2,500 to kit out a dog team with safety equipment, radios, specialist clothing and training, so we’re delighted to now have the support of Pennard Vets, which will make a big difference and help to make Kent a safer place for everyone.”

Images © NSARDA

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Antibiotic Amnesty survey opens

News Story 1
 The Responsible Use of Medicines Alliance - Companion Animal and Equine (RUMA - CA&E) has launched a survey which seeks to measure the success of this year's Antibiotic Amnesty campaign.

Its results will help the group to calculate how many unused or out-of-date antibiotics were returned as part of the campaign throughout November. Practices are also asked how they engaged with clients to raise awareness of the issue.

Participating practices can enter a prize draw to win up to 100 in vouchers for taking part. Further prizes from BSAVA and Webinar Vet will be available for practices with the best input.

The survey takes a few minutes to complete and will be running throughout December. It can be accessed via this link

Click here for more...
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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.