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Funding boost for Vetlife Helpline
Katie Moore (Vetlife Trustee) and Geoff Little (Vetlife President) gratefully accept the donation from Tim Hutchinson, XLVets Director.

Money will further enhance specialist service

A charity that provides emotional, financial and mental health support to the veterinary community has received a funding boost towards its helpline.

XLVets has donated £10,000 to the Vetlife Helpline which provides confidential emotional support by telephone or email.   

Run by volunteer vets and nurses, the helpline provides a confidential, non-judgemental listening service, giving people time and space to talk.

Welcoming the donation, Dr Rosie Allister, Vetlife Helpline manager, said: “This generous gift from XLVets will enable us to improve the specialist email Helpline platform, by which we offer complete anonymity to those who contact us for independent support.

“With 864 email contacts made to Helpline last year, e-mail is now the most common way that people access Vetlife, and by which our trained volunteers respond.”

XLVets’ decision to donate to Vetlife was made during their annual general meeting in Bristol last month.

Vetlife president Geoff Little took time out from the Vetlife AGM to gratefully receive the donation from Tim Hutchinson, partner at Larkmead Vets and XLVets director.

Speaking about the decision to direct the donation to Vetlife, Jane Simpson, people development manager for XLVets said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be able to give something back to Vetlife. The information, support and resources they provide to XLVets practices form a key part of our "Thriving in Practice" initiative.

“The fact that this money will enable Vetlife to further enhance its independent Helpline service is just amazing. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Vetlife, who provide such valuable support across our industry”.

If you need support please contact Vetlife Helpline on 0303 040 2551 or email Vetlife via www.vetlife.org.uk

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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.