Nominations for Petplan's Veterinary Awards 2015 will close on 16 January 2015. The awards recognise members of the veterinary profession who have gone above and beyond in their daily roles.

Nominations for all categories, which include Vet of the Year, Vet Nurse of the Year, Practice of the Year, Practice Support Staff of the Year, and Practice Manager of the Year, can be made at www.petplanvet.co.uk/vetaward.

Wood Green, the Animals Charity, has announced that it helped to find 100 pets new homes over the festive season.

In the lead up to Christmas, the Animal Charity was being inundated with animals whose owners could no longer care for them. Its 100 kennels were at bursting point and it had just under 700 cats on its list waiting to come in to find new homes. The 100 animals re-homed from December 24 - December 31 include 29 dogs and 47 cats, as well as eight chickens, five rabbits and other small furries.

Wood Green's dog welfare manager Tracey Binham said: "We're over the moon to see so many people offer Wood Green residents forever homes in time for the new year - we would like to say a huge thank you to all their new owners - and hope people continue to be as caring and compassionate in the months to come."

For the first time in five years, a barn owl has set up home in the purpose-built tower at the Lost Gardens of Heligan. The Barn Owl Tower was built in February 2010, but until now its only resident has been a field wood mouse.

As the Barn Owl Trust reports 2014 has been a fantastic year for barn owls, Heligan staff are hoping for another breeding pair in 2015. This year, just one chick hatched on the estate. Barn owl fans can view the tower's newest resident through Heligan's wildlife webcam, which has had nearly 140,000 views this year.

A disaster team has been deployed in Cabo Verde after a volcanic eruption has left animals and people desolate. Lava flows have destroyed two villages on the island in the central Atlantic Ocean. It is the first eruption for 20 years and has displaced 1,500 people, leaving their livestock in dire need.

The economy in Cabo Verde is largely based on agriculture but very little veterinary care is available. World Animal Protection's disaster team is aiming to help around 20,000 animals over the next two months by providing food and veterinary treatment.

Bat Conservation Trust volunteers from across the UK have spent over 42,000 evenings monitoring bat populations as part of the National Bat Monitoring Programme. The results of their study, published in Biological Conservation, reveal that ten species of bats show stable or increasing trends.

Dr Kate Barlow, lead author of the study, said: "We are delighted to be able to show that their [the volunteers] hard work and dedication allows us to produce a convincing and generally positive picture for the populations of some of our more widespread bat species. This is however only the start of recovery for some of these species and there is still a long way to go."

Image (C) Barracuda1983

ZSL London Zoo are celebrating their newest arrival - a Chinese giant salamander. Named Professor Wu, the salamander is the face of the Zoo's new conservation project, established to help prevent these unique giants from becoming extent in the wild.

The Zoo's reptile and amphibian team leader, Ben Tapley, said: "Chinese giant salamanders may not be everyone's idea of 'beautiful', but we think Professor Wu is more than capable of winning over our visitors."