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New President for Pig Veterinary Society
Nigel Woolfenden (pictured above) is now the new president of the Pig Veterinary Society.
Nigel Woolfenden has now taken over from Peter Brown as the new president of the UK’s Pig Veterinary Society.

Taking on this role, Nigel called for more honesty in the marketing of pork and bacon, in order to safeguard the on-farm progress made in pig welfare.

 “Transparency in the methods of farming should be obvious to all purchasers of pork products and requires honest labelling.  Lack of transparency will undermine the impetus for further improvements in pig welfare. The labelling of some products such as ‘Cumberland’ sausage and ‘Melton Mowbray’ pork pies when they contain imported pork has been misleading,” he said.

“UK farm assured welfare standards are amongst the highest in the world, which is denoted by the Red Tractor logo on pork, ham and bacon.  The UK has led the rest of the EU in sow welfare for over a decade and thus the voluntary adoption by the major supermarkets of a new code of practice is welcome.  The code will give consumers confidence in the provenance of the pork in their purchases, and in turn consumer support will give UK pig farms the backing they need to invest in even higher pig health and welfare standards.”

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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
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.