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Votes are in for Britain's first Purr Minister
Kevin
Kevin, Britain's first Purr Minister.

Kevin is Westminster's cat of the year

The search for the top cat of Westminster is now over - after weeks of voting, Britain's first ever Purr Minister has been elected.

MPs and Lords from across the country began nominating their cat companions at the start of the month, with each hopeful submitting a "Manifursto" to the charity's website.

Following a 16-year career in eating and sleeping, Kevin has been crowned Purr Minister, winning 29.8 per cent of the vote.

Far from apathetic about voting, members of the public were impressed by Kevin's strong sense of purr-pose and eye-catching Manifursto.

Lindsey Quinlan, Battersea’s head of cattery, said: "Here at Battersea we know the British public love their cats and we’re so pleased to see that our politicians do too.

"The inaugural competition was certainly memorable and we hope Kevin enjoys his exciting year as our first Purr Minister and we wish him well!"

Kevin's election as Purr Minister coincides with the third anniversary of former Battersea cat Larry being appointed chief mouser at No. 10 Downing Street.

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Strangles survey seeks views of horse owners

News Story 1
 With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.

The survey, which has been designed by Dechra, aims to raise awareness of Strangles and promote best practices to prevent its transmission. It includes questions about horse owners' experiences of strangles, together with preventative measures and vaccination.

Respondents to the survey will be entered into a prize draw to win two VIP tickets to Your Horse Live 2025. To access the survey, click here 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
DAERA to reduce BVD 'grace period'

DAERA has reminded herd keepers of an upcoming reduction to the 'grace period' to avoid BVD herd restrictions.

From 1 May 2025, herd keepers will have seven days to cull any BVD positive or inconclusive animals to avoid restrictions being applied to their herd.

It follows legislation introduced on 1 February, as DAERA introduces herd movement restrictions through a phased approach. Herd keepers originally had 28 days to cull BVD positive or inconclusive animals.

DAERA says that, providing herd keepers use the seven-day grace period, no herds should be restricted within the first year of these measures.

Additional measures, which will target herds with animals over 30 days old that haven't been tested for BVD, will be introduced from 1 June 2025.

More information is available on the DAERA website.