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Vet students win grant to safeguard hedgehogs
The project builds on previous measures to develop the Easter Bush site into a hedgehog-friendly haven.
Funding to protect wildlife at University of Edinburgh's Easter Bush campus
 
Veterinary students at the University of Edinburgh have won a £2,000 Student Experience Grant to develop the Easter Bush Campus into a haven for hedgehogs and other wildlife. 

Sarah Batiste, Niamh Duthie and Niamh Kinch will use the funding – made possible by donations to the university - to survey the site and establish where improvements might be best made. 

Sarah Batiste commented: “We are extremely lucky to work and study in a campus that is surrounded by green and forested landscapes and home to significant biodiversity. We would like to create spaces that foster and promote this by supporting dwindling hedgehog populations.”

Among the planned improvements include safe water sources, ramps in ponds and increased wildflower coverage. The team also hopes to install an on-site wildlife camera to measure the impact of their efforts and signs to alert drivers of hedgehog populations.

The project, expected to take around a year, builds on previous measures to develop the campus into a place where hedgehogs can safely feed, shelter and breed. 

In February, the University of Edinburgh scooped a silver accreditation as a hedgehog-friendly campus, and a 2020 survey revealed hedgehog footprints in temporary tunnels around Easter Bush Campus. 

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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. 

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News Shorts
RCVS annual renewal fee for vets due

RCVS' annual renewal fee for veterinary surgeons is now due. Vets must pay their renewal fee before Wednesday, 1 April 2026.

This year's standard annual fee has increased to 431 from last year's 418. This is an approximately three per cent increase, as approved by RCVS Council and the Privy Council.

Tshidi Gardner, RCVS treasurer, said: "The small fee increase will be used to help deliver both our everyday activities and our new ambitious Strategic Plan, which includes aims such as achieving new legislation, reviewing the Codes of Professional Conduct and supporting guidance, and continuing to support the professions through activities such as the Mind Matters Initiative, RCVS Academy and career development."

A full breakdown of the new fees is on the RCVS website. Information about tax relief is available on the UK government website.