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Horse Owners Urged to Register with Alert Service
Horse owners are being urged to register with Animal Health’s disease alert service.

Animal Health, the government agency tasked with minimising the risk and impact of notifiable animal diseases in Great Britain, is reminding horse owners to keep track of outbreaks of exotic equine diseases by registering with its Disease Alert Subscription Service.

By signing up, subscribers to the free service can receive information about diseases such as Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA) and West Nile Virus via their choice of text, fax, voicemail or email.

 Rob Paul, Chief Operating Officer for Animal Health, said the system was an important part of Animal Health’s efforts to keep horse owners informed, and to minimise the impact of equine disease outbreaks. “Outbreaks of exotic equine disease in Great Britain are, thankfully, rare,” he said.

 “When disease outbreaks occur, as with the recent cases of EIA in Northumberland and Devon, it is important that horse owners are kept abreast of developments and receive the right information to protect their animals.”

The disease alert service provides registered users with the latest news specific to exotic notifiable animal disease outbreaks in Great Britain. Horse owners can subscribe to Animal Health’s disease alert service by visiting www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth/alerts/subscribe.htm

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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.