Strangles, Abattoirs and British Wool

Strangles - should it be a notifiable disease? Horse owners in the north east of Wales are being warned to apply strict biosecurity measures to stop the spread of this highly contagious condition which attacks a horse's respiratory system. A recent outbreak in the area has lead to some equine events being cancelled.

Abattoirs in Wales are vital to the national economy but are facing a battle for survival. According to a report from Hybu Cig Cymru, the meat promotion body the cattle, sheep and pig slaughtering businesses contributes £461 million every year to the Welsh economy but they face a bleak future without significant investment. Since 1990, Wales has lost 42 abattoirs, leaving just 22, and these are dominated by a handful of major players which account for almost 90% of industry throughput.

Aluminium Cans - in the UK we use almost 10 billion aluminium drinks cans a year of which 3 billion don't get recycled. We meet the woman on a crusade to raise awareness about this dreadful waste of a resource.

and Wool, home-grown and home made! This weekend more than 200 exhibitors and fibre fans in their thousands will be flocking to this year's Wonderwool Wales in Builth Wells - a festival of British wool and natural fibres. And as next weekend it's Yarn Shop Day Rachael Garside goes in search of the natural colour, texture and heathery shades to be found in a Wool shop in Lampeter - only to discover a Welsh wool too.