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Helping toads across the roads
Common toad being saved by patrollers
Common toad being saved by patrollers.

Volunteers carry amphibians across busy roads

Over the coming weeks and months, volunteers will be giving toads a helping hand across busy roads as they make their way back to their breeding ponds.

A national campaign called Toads on Roads takes place each year to help save the common toad from mass road mortalities.

Conservation organisation Froglife, which coordinates the campaign, says the common toad is thought to be experiencing large-scale declines and local extinctions in the UK, made worse by road traffic as toads travel back to breeding ponds.

Commenting on last year's campaign, Sivi Sivanesan, public engagement officer for Froglife said: "In 2013 volunteer toad patrollers saved over 74,254 toads at 132 crossing sites.

"This is a fantastic result especially as we know that this is the minimum number saved as some crossings don’t submit data."

However, Sivi says toads are still killed by traffic at sites where there are too few volunteers or where it's too dangerous to patrol.

This year, Froglife has launched a new interactive map to show potential volunteers where to find the nearest registered crossing, in a bid to boost the number of volunteers.

View the map here to find your nearest patrol site. 

Image courtesy of Dave Kilbey.

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Annual submission deadline small pet animal exemptions

News Story 1
 Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.

Submitting this annual return ensures continued compliance with regulatory requirements for products marketed without a full Marketing Authorisation. The exemption specifically applies to products intended for animals, cage birds, terrarium animals, small rodents, ferrets and rabbits.

For further details and submission guidelines, visit the gov.uk website.  

Click here for more...
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BVA urges 'continued vigilance' over bluetongue

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has urged vigilance following a concerning rise in Bluetongue (BTV) cases in sheep and cattle.

In a recent statement, the BVA noted that members are reporting more severe clinical signs and higher mortality rates than in previous years.

'We know that farm vets are working hard to support farmers and animals affected by this outbreak, during what is an extremely difficult time for all involved,' they stated. 'Continued vigilance to identify disease early is vital and vaccination remains the best way of protecting animals from this disease.'