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Webinar to give advice on sheep vaccine shortages
The webinar will take place on Wednesday, 4 October.
Experts will talk about supply issues and mitigating risks.

The National Sheep Association has announced that October’s Breakfast Club webinar will look at the shortages of sheep vaccines.

Jonathon Statham, chair of the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England Commitee, will speak about the reasons for supply chain issues and how the problems might be resolved. He will also look at the long-term effects the current shortage might have.

He will be joined by Dr Joe Henry, a specialist beef and sheep veterinary surgeon, who will talk about how to mitigate the long-term impact of the vaccine shortage and what farmers can do if they can’t access vaccines.

In the past year, there have been supply issues with vaccines that prevent clostridial diseases, Pasteurellosis, abortion, lameness and orf.

In response, NSA has been in contact with manufacturing companies to try to resolve the shortages, as well as raising the issue with the Government at ministerial level. Recently, NSA wrote to Sir Robert Goodwill, chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ((EFRA) select committee, suggesting the committee should investigate the problem.

NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker said: “NSA has endeavoured to keep its members and other UK sheep farmers up to date on the ongoing difficulties felt in sourcing vaccines via its NSA publications and online engagement.

“This webinar will add to this providing a fuller update on the vaccine availability situation across the UK, giving a a chance to attendees to hear and ask questions over alternative strategies to reduce disease risk.”

The webinar, which will be free to join, takes place at 8.30am on Wednesday, 4 October. Those interested in attending can register online.

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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.