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Glued to Your Phone?
Phone calls are the second most common use for mobile phones.
It’s official – the mobile phone is the single most important gadget in our lives, ahead of laptops and iPods, a recent study has discovered.

The survey found that 62% of Brits consider their mobile phone to be the most important gadget in their lives and an astonishing 60% cannot imagine what life would be like without their portable friend. As many as 68% of respondents claimed that they felt at a loss when leaving their phone at home, compared to just 16% who said they can quite easily get by without one.

The survey also found that handset usage has doubled in the last seven years and that almost 40% of Brits are using their mobiles for up to three hours a day, with many citing new touch-screen, Internet and email capabilities as the main contributing factor for this rise.

Texting is the most popular and common use for mobile phones, followed by phone calls and social networking applications like Facebook and Twitter, which are now frequently used by around 38% of handset owners.

Interestingly, mobile phone habits differ quite dramatically between the sexes. The poll showed that 48% of men are now using their mobiles to access personal and work emails, compared to just 20% of women. Bulit-in MP3 players, games and other applications are also proving to be more popular amongst men, 54% versus just 15%.

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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.