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Defra to launch badger vaccination scheme
badger
Defra will launch the vaccination scheme later this year.

Wildlife charities welcome scheme in TB hotspots

Defra has announced that a new Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme (BEVS) will be launched later this year.

Wildlife charities including the Badger Trust and Care for the Wild have welcomed the move, which will allow charities and other organisations to apply for funding for badger vaccination in bovine TB hotspots.

Vaccination projects within the edge areas will be eligible for funding – these are Hampshire, East Sussex, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Cheshire.

Commenting on the scheme, the Badger Trust's CEO Dominic Dyer said: "It's great to see the government pushing ahead with this scheme. We were helping to evolve a similar plan a year or more ago so it's fantastic that this scheme has taken shape and is being given the full backing of Defra.”

Environment secretary Liz Truss, who recently replaced Owen Paterson, has confirmed that the controversial badger culls will continue in Somerset and Gloucestershire this year.

It is reported that Natural England will monitor this year's culls, rather than an independent expert panel (IEP) as last year.

It was recently announced that the Badger Trust has been granted a judicial review by the High Court, allowing the charity to challenge the legality of conducting the culls without an independent body to monitor their safety, effectiveness and humaneness.

Defra has also revealed the Badger Vaccination Fund will be reopened for applications in 2014.

The BEVS is expected to involve longer term match funding and enhanced training. Criteria for funding and support is likely to require vaccination projects to be undertaken across a minimum area, every year, for a minimum number of years.

Defra says it is working with stakeholders to ensure the scheme offers the best opportunities for privately led, joint-funded vaccination projects.

Read the full Government information note: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bovine-tb-information-note-badger-vaccination-fund-2014

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here

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News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

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.