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Toddler stashes deadly snake eggs in wardrobe
Mother finds hatched eastern brown snakes in container

A toddler in Australia had a lucky escape after stashing eastern brown snake eggs in a plastic container tucked away in his wardrobe.

Kyle Cummings aged three found the eggs near his home in Townsville, Queensland, before storing them in a safe place. A few days later his mother found the seven deadly snakes after they had hatched. The reptiles were 12-15cm long.

Eastern brown snakes are highly venomous and are second only to the Inland Taipan when it comes to venom. Fortunately, in this instance they caused no harm to any of the Cummings family.

The snakes have since been released into the wild.

Trish Prendergast of North Queensland Wildlife Care, who released the snakes, said: "Their fangs are only a few millimetres long at that age, so they probably couldn't break the skin, but they're just as venomous as full-grown snakes.”

In September a Sydney teenager survived a bite on the hand from an Inland Taipan. He was rushed to hospital and given anti-venom.


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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.