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Zebra mice rescued from home containing 100 rodents
Zebra mice are native to Africa and require large cages with lots of enrichment.

Anonymous tip-off alerts charity to rodents kept in unsuitable conditions

A trio of striped zebra mice are looking for new homes after being rescued from a house containing over 100 rodents in dirty cages.

Zebra mice are native to Africa and require large cages with lots of enrichment, including tunnels to play in, houses to hide in and lots of wood to chew.

The RSPCA received an anonymous tip-off about lots of rodents being kept in a home in Birmingham last year. Inspector Jonathan Ratcliffe went to the property in September and found 104 rodents.

“There were rows and rows, stacks and stacks of cages all with rodents inside, from mice to hamsters to rats,” he said. “The owner just wasn’t able to cope any more and signed all 104 rodents over to us to rehome. It took us days to get them out of the house and into rescue centres up and down the country.”

Most of the animals have now been rehomed, but Birmingham Animal Centre is still trying to rehome the three zebra mice - Bashful, Sleepy and Grumpy - as well as marmot mice Cagney, Jonesy and Lacey.

Emma Finnmore from the centre, said: “Sleepy is happy being handled and is quite confident once she knows you. She arrived here with six other mice who were all male so, unfortunately, she is currently being kept on her own.

“Bashful and Grumpy are looking for a home together. They’re both very fast and like to jump so can be quite tricky to handle!”

For information on rehoming, call 0300 123 8585, or visit: www.rspca.org.uk/local/birmingham-animal-centre/findapet

Image courtesy of the RSPCA

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Reporting service for dead wild birds updated

News Story 1
 The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has updated its online reporting service for dead wild birds.

The new version allows those reporting a dead bird to drop a pin on a map when reporting the location. It also includes a wider range of wild bird species groups to select from when describing the bird.

The online service, which helps APHA to monitor the spread of diseases such as avian influenza, can be accessed here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
NI chief vet urges bluetongue vigilance

Northern Ireland's chief veterinary officer (CVO) has urged farmers to be vigilant for signs of bluetongue, after the Animal and Plant Health Agency warned there was a very high probability of further cases in Great Britain.

There have been 126 confirmed cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 in England since November 2023, with no cases reported in Northern Ireland. The movement of live ruminants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland is currently suspended.

According to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), the virus is most likely to enter Northern Ireland through infected animals or germplasm (semen or ova) being imported.

Brian Dooher, Northern Ireland's CVO, said: "Surveillance for this disease within Northern Ireland has been increased to assist with detection at the earliest opportunity which will facilitate more effective control measures."

Farmers should report any suspicions of the disease to their private veterinary practitioner, the DAERA Helpline on 0300 200 7840 or their local DAERA Direct Veterinary Office.