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Meerkats get merry
George investigating his Christmas stocking

Santa stockings and fireplace make for festive enrichment

As the festive spirit hits, keepers at Whipsnade Zoo are helping their meerkats join in the merriment with personalised Christmas stockings.

Meerkat trio Paul, George and Ringo each have a stocking full of treats hung on their very own fireplace, to encourage them to investigate something new as part of their daily enrichment activities.

Zookeeper Mark Holden said: "Paul, George and Ringo have definitely made it onto Santa’s nice list this year, so we stuffed their stockings full of their favourite cricket snacks as a pre-Christmas treat.

"Stuffed stockings are a great way of keeping the trio stimulated and encouraging them to be inquisitive."

Whipsnade's Meet Santa experience launched last week, coinciding with the meerkat's festive enrichment. Fitting in with the theme, the zoo will be offering children the chance to learn more about reindeers during daily talks at their paddock.

Image courtesy of ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

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Submissions open for BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026

News Story 1
 The BSAVA has opened submissions for the BSAVA Clinical Research Abstracts 2026.

It is an opportunity for applicants to present new research on any veterinary subject, such as the preliminary results of a study, discussion of a new technique or a description of an interesting case.

They must be based on high-quality clinical research conducted in industry, practice or academia, and summarised in 250 words.

Applications are welcome from vets, vet nurses, practice managers, and students.

Submissions are open until 6 March 2026. 

Click here for more...
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Survey seeks ruminant sector views on antimicrobial stewardship

A new survey is seeking views of people working in the UK ruminant sector on how to tackle the challenge of demonstrating responsible antibiotic stewardship.

Forming part of a wider, collaborative initiative, the results will help identify the types of data available so that challenges with data collection can be better understood and addressed.

Anyone working in the UK farming sector, including vets and farmers,is encouraged to complete the survey, which is available at app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk