http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog A blog about rural life in the UK, our countryside and my country life. It's all here, farming, gardening, wildlife, animals and rural dating. Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:41:54 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/burt-the-bat-and-the-blackcurrant-jelly-saga/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/burt-the-bat-and-the-blackcurrant-jelly-saga/#comments Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:19:09 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=767 This is the story of little Burt the Bat and a story I am ashamed to tell .. but here goes anyway. Let’s start at the beginning. At our farm we are lucky enough to have a colony of Pipistrelle bats and we are extremely fond of our bats. Unfortunately sickness in the colony drastically [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/burt-the-bat-and-the-blackcurrant-jelly-saga/feed/ 11 http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/attracting-hedgehogs-to-your-garden-caring-for-hedgehogs/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/attracting-hedgehogs-to-your-garden-caring-for-hedgehogs/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:08:40 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=724 Should you be lucky enough to have a hedgehog visit your garden or wish to attract one and see it safely through the winter months there are lots of excellent books in libraries and experts at wildlife centres for advice. Failing being able to visit one of these then you can read the excellent information [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/attracting-hedgehogs-to-your-garden-caring-for-hedgehogs/feed/ 11 http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/pets-and-fireworks-protect-your-animals-on-bonfire-night/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/pets-and-fireworks-protect-your-animals-on-bonfire-night/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:58:14 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=723 Pets and fireworks simply do not mix. Bonfire night is a fun time for us roasting marshmallows and going “ooooh” as fireworks paint the sky can actually be a pet’s idea of hell. Every year many pets are lost or injure themselves through the fear of fireworks. Whether you have a dog, cat, horse or [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/pets-and-fireworks-protect-your-animals-on-bonfire-night/feed/ 2 http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/amersham-horse-trader-gets-6-months/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/amersham-horse-trader-gets-6-months/#comments Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:38:51 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=656 Amersham horse trader, James Gray,has finally been sentenced (yipee) after being found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering to 40 equines, following a 12 week trial. While it is not the sentence many equine lovers would like it was the maximum the Judge could hand down. James Gray was sentenced to 6 months in prison, a [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/amersham-horse-trader-gets-6-months/feed/ 5 http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/uk-food-labelling-animal-welfare-groups/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/uk-food-labelling-animal-welfare-groups/#comments Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:03:45 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=650 Why would I include animal welfare groups in this series of articles about UK food labelling? In other articles we’ve looked at this issue from the side of food producers and food processors, both are obvious players in the UK food labelling saga. However animal welfare groups, like Compassion In World Farming (CIWF) and the [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/uk-food-labelling-animal-welfare-groups/feed/ 6 http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/amersham-horses-guilty-verdict/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/amersham-horses-guilty-verdict/#comments Mon, 11 May 2009 14:20:01 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=569 Finally a verdict in the Amersham horses case … GUILTY … hurrah. James Gray and his son James Gray Junior (the youth that could not be named for legal reasons) were found guilty of all 11 counts of animal cruelty under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. His wife Julie and daughters Jodie and Cordelia, after [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/amersham-horses-guilty-verdict/feed/ 10 http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/amersham-horses-update-april-2009/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/amersham-horses-update-april-2009/#comments Tue, 28 Apr 2009 08:39:43 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=548 One year and two weeks after I last posted about the Amersham horses welfare case we still don’t have a conclusion in one of the largest animal welfare cases ever held in Britain. Fair enough, the wheels of justice do tend to grind painfully slowly but this case just seems to beggar belief. If it [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/amersham-horses-update-april-2009/feed/ 9 http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/is-british-farming-necessary/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/is-british-farming-necessary/#comments Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:04:38 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=359 I would really like to thank a reader of this blog for her recent comments on the post about the Welsh badger cull to stem the spread of bTB in Wales which was recently announced. It is difficult to sum up this blog or why I do it but these comments have given me the [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/is-british-farming-necessary/feed/ 6 http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/welsh-badger-cull-gets-go-ahead-to-fight-bovine-bt/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/welsh-badger-cull-gets-go-ahead-to-fight-bovine-bt/#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:52:13 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=342 Just a week after Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced a test vaccination project in six areas of England, beginning next year, the Welsh Assembly Government have announced that Wales will go ahead with a badger cull. In England farmers and vets will be trained to trap and inject badgers with a test vaccine for bovine [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/welsh-badger-cull-gets-go-ahead-to-fight-bovine-bt/feed/ 9 http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/british-egg-production-where-do-your-eggs-come-from/ http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/british-egg-production-where-do-your-eggs-come-from/#comments Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:57:45 +0000 Sally http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/?p=282 I’m really lucky, when I fancy an egg sandwich I just nip out to the barn, push a chicken or duck out of the way and grab a couple of fresh eggs. Not many people are that lucky and most have to buy their eggs in a supermarket but do you understand all that marking [...]]]> http://www.country-couples.co.uk/blog/british-egg-production-where-do-your-eggs-come-from/feed/ 20