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Bristol vet school hosts talk on tortoise medicine
Focus on challenges of tortoise medicine and surgery

The Small Animal Practice at the University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Sciences have organised a talk about tortoise medicine to be held on Wednesday 9 October.

Delivered by Colin Blakey, a vet who heads up the exotic pet service in the Small Animal Practice, the talk will provide tortoise owners with essential information about how to care for their tortoise properly in order to keep it in good health.

“Cracking the carapace – the challenges of tortoise medicine and surgery” will explore health problems in tortoises and how owners can prevent their pets getting ill.

Colin Blakey said: “The shell of tortoises offers particular difficulties when it comes to working out what is going on inside but with the use of advanced imaging technologies we can now look inside these mysterious creatures to find out what is wrong.”

Colin’s talk will discuss the challenges of investigating a sick tortoise and how they can be prevented or spotted early on.

The talk will be held at 7pm in the Hodgkin Lecture Theatre, Pearson Building, Langford. Admission is free for Langford Veterinary Services clients or £5 for non clients.

To book a place at the talk, contact the Small Animal Practice on 01934 852422 or book online at www.langfordvets.co.uk/tortoise_event.

The Small Animal Practice is run by Langford Veterinary Services and is a totally owned subsidiary of the University of Bristol.

 

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
BBC Radio 4 documentary addresses corporate fees

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 Investigates has released a documentary exploring how corporate-owned veterinary practices may be inflating bills to increase profit.

Released on 15 April, 'What's Happening To Your Vet Bills?' revealed the policies which many corporate groups have in place to increase their profits. This included targets and upgrades which veterinary teams are tasked with meeting on a regular basis.

It also features Anrich Vets, an independently-owned practice based in Wigan. Following the case of Staffordshire terrier Benjy, who is diagnosed with a tumour, the documentary shares how the team were able to offer contextualised care and advice to make the procedure as affordable as possible for his owners.

The documentary can be heard on demand on BBC iPlayer.