Animals news

• A robin comforted me at my parents’ grave | Letters

  02-02-2026 17:26 via theguardian.com
  Readers respond to letters and Amy-Jane Beer’s Country Diary on the death of loved ones and wildlife visitationsRegarding the letters (30 January) in response to Amy-Jane Beer’s Country Diary (27 January), after our mother died I visited my parents’ grave to check on the gravestone to which her name had been added after our father’s. It was midwinter with deep snow, and I arrived to find a robin perched on the stone. It didn’t fly away, but jumped down to the ground
  
  Read more

• Volunteers race to contain suspected bird flu outbreak among swans

  02-02-2026 13:01 via theguardian.com
  Rising case numbers and dozens of dead birds in Thames Valley raise fears spread is wider than recordedMembers of the public and charity volunteers are working to contain a suspected outbreak of bird flu among swans in the Thames Valley, amid signs that confirmed cases are continuing to rise.Since October, 324 cases of bird flu in swans have been recorded by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha), which is sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). Of these,
  
  Read more

• Race to contain suspected bird flu outbreak among Thames Valley swans

  02-02-2026 13:01 via theguardian.com
  Volunteer workers say increasing case numbers and dozens of dead birds raise fears spread is wider than recordedMembers of the public and charity volunteers are working to contain a suspected outbreak of bird flu among swans in the Thames Valley, amid signs that confirmed cases are continuing to rise.Since October, 324 cases of bird flu in swans have been recorded by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha), which is sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). O
  
  Read more

• The one change that worked: I quit my job, became a cat-sitter – and found new friends

  02-02-2026 12:00 via theguardian.com
  Cat-sitting can only be relied upon for pocket money, but it has enriched me in other ways. The most unexpected benefit has been finally meeting my neighboursI am a crazy cat lady, except for one small obstacle: I do not own a cat. Though my boyfriend and I discuss names for cats, like other couples do for children, renting in London has put a stop to adding one to our family. So I had pushed dreams of filling the cat-sized hole in my life to one side, only allowing myself momentary relapses whe
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

Follow @newsloc_animals on Twitter!