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BHPS launches hedgehog-friendly football league
Burton Albion are currently third from top in the Hedgehog-Friendly Football League.

Campaign urges clubs to be mindful of hedgehogs

As football season comes to a close, hedgehog conservationists are gearing up to launch a league of their own - The Hedgehog Friendly Football League!

The British Hedgehog Preservation Society says that it has been in touch with all the Premiership and Championship football clubs, urging them to be mindful of hedgehogs.

The campaign calls on clubs to put reminder stickers on all their ground maintenance equipment and urges users of the equipment to check for hedgehogs before they proceed.

The society has been delighted with the response so far, with some teams agreeing to hand out leaflets for Hedgehog Awareness Week (30 April - 6 May), feature the campaign in match programmes or have mascots photographed with #hedgehogweek signs.

Barnsley, Brighton & Hove Albion and Burton Albion currently top the hedgehog-friendly league table, with those clubs who have refused stickers sitting at the bottom.

Fay Vass, chief executive of BHPS, commented: “We thought it would be a fun way of spreading the word to football fans, some of the clubs have really got involved and are doing wonderful work on behalf of our prickly friends, other clubs are facing relegation of course!  We are hoping that fans will get on board and ask their clubs to join in, or be more pro-active to improve their position!”

While the campaign is meant to be light-hearted, it does highlight an important issue. Each year the BHPS takes in hedgehogs with horrific injuries caused by strimmers and mowers, many of which are killed instantly. The BHPS stresses that a quick check before using the machines greatly reduces the risk of this happening. 

Image (C) Burton Albion

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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.