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Moredun Foundation welcomes HRH The Princess Royal
HRH The Princess Royal received a private tour of the laboratories.

Charity showcases exciting new research
 
Staff and students at The Moredun Foundation received a visit from HRH The Princess Royal on Wednesday (30 November) in a special event to help celebrate Scotland’s year of Innovation, Architecture and Design.

The event held at Pentlands Science Park, the headquarters of the Moredun Foundation and Moredun Research Institute, highlighted how creative design has been applied to benefit the health and welfare of livestock.

Joined by more than 100 representatives from the livestock and agricultural industries, The Princess Royal listened to case studies presented by early career scientists.

Dr Dan Price described how application of new protein expression technologies have revolutionised the development of new vaccines against nematode worms; Dr Valentina Busin looked at how smart engineering has enabled the design of a rapid pensive diagnostic test for sheep scab; and Dr Thomas Tzelos presented a short animated film on parasite control and prevention of drug resistance.

During her visit, The Princess Royal met post-graduate students and early career scientists, representatives from the farming industry, designers, research communities and the Equine Grass Sickness Charity. She also received a private tour of the laboratories and met scientists involved in diagnostics and livestock disease surveillance.

Mr Ian Duncan Miller, chairman of Moredun Foundation, commented: “Moredun is delighted to welcome Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal to our event where we are showcasing the very exciting new research, conducted by early career scientists, showing the benefits, of applying innovative design to improve the health and welfare of livestock.”

The Moredun Foundation is a registered charity that promotes animal health and welfare through research and education. It is dedicated to a simple belief that the greatest benefit to animal welfare is the cure or prevention of disease. 

Image (C) JCMackintosh Photography

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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NSA webinar explores sheep tailing and castration

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is to host a free webinar on the castration and tail docking of lambs.

The webinar, 'Understanding the tailing and castration consultation: A guide for sheep farmers', will be hosted online on Monday, 2 March 2026 at 7.30pm.

It comes during a government consultation into the methods used for these procedures. Farmers are encouraged to engage before the consultation period closes on Monday, 9 March 2026.

The webinar offers clear and actionable guidance to support farmers to contribute meaningfully to the consultation and prepare for potential changes.

On the panel will be former SVS president Kate Hovers, farmer and vet Ann Van Eetvelt and SRUC professor in Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences Cathy Dwyer. Each panel member will utilise their own specialism and expertise to evaluate risks and outcomes to sheep farming.

Find out more about the webinar on the NSA website.