Tag: abandoned

Musselburgh racing ABANDONED

Musselburgh Racecourse has ABANDONED today’s (30 March) Virgin Bet Easter Saturday Race Day.

The East Lothian track took the difficult decision to call off the meeting after further rainfall this morning which made the course unsafe for jockeys and horses.

All ticket holders will be contacted with information on how to transfer their booking to another meeting or to receive a full refund.

Racecourse director Bill Farnsworth said: “Unfortunately racing has been abandoned. We had 15mm of rain yesterday and a further 3.25mm of rain this morning between 5am and 6am.

“It has been an incredibly wet winter and the ground is very wet. Normally Musselburgh could handle this kind of weather but the water table must be so high, that this has not happened.

“The ground is saturated in places and our priority must be the safety of the jockeys and the horses. It is very disappointing, we had a brilliant day lined up for our race goers and we are sorry to have to abandon racing.”

Fowl! Abandoned birds need new homes

Abandoned cockerels need new homes

CockerelsThe Scottish SPCA is appealing to find loving new homes for a number of cockerels in their care. Scotland’s animal welfare charity has seen a rise in the number of cockerels being abandoned.

The most recent incident saw four Transylvanian cockerels dumped in woodland in Biggar, South Lanarkshire.  The Scottish SPCA’s Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre currently have 11 cockerels looking for new homes.

Assistant centre manager Kenny Sharpe said, “The majority cockerels come into our care after being abandoned.

“People often buy chicks thinking they are hens and unfortunately when they realise they are cockerels they often dump the birds as they don’t lay eggs and can be quite noisy.

“Cockerels are very territorial birds, so ideally we are looking to rehome them singly or in small groups to a home with a number of hens.

“The birds would also need access to a secure run or a fully enclosed garden.
“We’d encourage anyone who thinks they can give any of these birds a fresh start to contact us for further information.”

Anyone who can offer any of the cockerels a new home is being urged to contact the Scottish SPCA’s Animal Helpline on 03000 999 999.

Cockerels 2

Pictures: SSPCA