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Mystery surrounding starling deaths in Anglesey
Some 300 dead starlings were found close to Llyn Llywenan, Bodedern, on Tuesday afternoon.
APHA carrying out tests to determine the most likely cause 

Hundreds of starlings have been found dead on an unclassified road in Anglesey, Wales.

According to the North Wales Rural Crime Team, approximately 300 starlings were found close to Llyn Llywenan, Bodedern, on Tuesday (10 Dec) afternoon. Most of the birds were found dead on the road, with many others in the hedges, but none in the surrounding fields.

Officers from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) seized some of the starlings for toxicology tests and a postmortem to learn how they died. However, police say they have been left baffled by the incident.

Rob Taylor, team manager for North Wales Police's Rural Crime Team, said: "I have to say at this present time it is an absolute and complete mystery to us. We've done all of the necessary checks and spoken to witnesses and we're trying to get to the bottom of it, however, we are still scratching our heads in regards to it.

"There's a few people who have come forward telling different stories in regards to it and we're just trying to tie up those pieces now to get the accurate facts. We've also sent some of the birds off for a toxicology and postmortem so I'm hoping we can get a result on that pretty soon but I would be very surprised if 300 died in one area without any of them being in the surrounding fields.”

Anyone with information about the incident, which is believed to have occurred at around 3.40 pm on Tuesday, is urged to contact the police.

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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.