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This Week's Top TV (W/C: 8th Feb)
Big cats, primates, prairie dogs and Simon King all feature in this week's TV round-up!
Time is a scarce resource but if you have any then here’s a round up of some of this week’s best animal-related television…

If you’re interested in primates, then Animal Planet’s Monkey Business or Going Ape might be appealing. The prior follows the happenings at Europe’s largest ape rescue centre; the latter focuses on the work of primate care trusts in Africa.

Big Cat lovers might enjoy tuning in to Sky 1’s Lion Man, which documents the work of Craig Busch at Zion Wildlife Gardens in New Zealand. Natural World (on Animal Planet) is all about Project Tiger and how the near extinction of these incredible creatures has been prevented.

Intimate Enemies (on Nat Geo Wild) is about Tanzania during the dry season and how the seasonal change brings with it the marginalisation of viable habitat for many creatures which end living perilously close to one another.

Terrestrial TV

If you don’t have satellite TV then don’t despair – the Beeb can come to your rescue! BBC2’s documentary series The Great Rift: Africa’s Wilds… concludes this week and features some amazing wildlife. Simon King’s Shetland Dairies reveals the wildlife delights on the Shetland Islands through the changing seasons. It’s the second in the series with the wildlife cameraman and presenter, whom many of you will recognise from BSAVA a couple of years ago when he provided an extremely interesting talk.

Watch at your leisure…

If none of these fit into you schedule but you still feel like getting a ‘wildlife hit’ then we’d recommend watching Prairie Dogs – Talk of the Town, which can be watched at any time via the BBC website. This programme focuses on the complex language used by these creatures and a professor’s quest to study it.

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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.

 

Click here for more...
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.