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Rabbit Awareness Week goes virtual
Rabbit Awareness Week 2020 aims to educate owners about the five key welfare needs.

Organisers have announced a packed programme of digital events.
 
Organisers behind Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW) have announced an exciting line up of digital events to improve the health and welfare of rabbits in the UK.

The annual RAW campaign aims to reach, educate and inform rabbit owners about the five key welfare needs of rabbits and encourage them to join in the conversation.

Normally organisations and individuals host physical events which, due to COVID-19, will not be possible this year. Instead, the RAW team is putting together a packed programme of digital workshops, live Q&As, virtual tours and educational videos – all of which will be shared online.

This year's campaign takes place over two weeks (10 – 23 August), and rabbit owners, animal lovers and anyone else interested in learning more about rabbit welfare is encouraged to get involved in the campaign via the official website and social media pages.

Campaign organiser Holly Ackroyd said: “Vets have always played an active, and absolutely vital, part of Rabbit Awareness Week but the coronavirus pandemic means we’ve had to get a bit more creative to make sure we can drive and facilitate their involvement this year’s campaign. We’re delighted that the RAW partners and our supporting vets will once again be lending their support to the campaign by delivering online content that promises to both entertain and educate UK owners, and ‘would-be’ owners of these amazing animals.
 
“Despite the current challenges, we’re confident this year’s campaign will build on previous years to be our biggest RAW campaign yet. As one of the UK’s most misunderstood pets, it’s so important that we continue to raise awareness about the welfare needs of rabbits. We’ve invested significantly into the creation of new content and collateral on all of these needs and have extended the length of the campaign to ensure that we comprehensively shine a light of them all.”

More details about RAW 2020 are expected in the coming weeks.

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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.