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Keeley Donovan is on the trail of the puppy farmers in Ireland whose cruel trade is flooding the UK market. Puppies might be the top of our Christmas wish-list but all too often we’re unwittingly buying into a black market worth millions and only just behind drugs and guns. She’s in Northern Ireland which has problems with its soft border with the South – known as the puppy capital of Europe. An undercover investigator reveals some of the horrors that he witnesses and how easy it is for us to be duped into buying a sick puppy which could die – especially with the boom in online sales. But all is not lost as Keeley discovers how agencies and ferry operators are cracking down. And she gets the lowdown on what to look out for when you’re buying a puppy so we don’t line the pockets of the puppy farmers.

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As more and more of us fly off for some winter sun or to hit the ski slopes, Steve Brown is at Southampton Airport to meet a newcomer who could revolutionise aviation safety. Birds are the arch enemy of planes and, as in the case of the Hudson River crash in 2009, can bring a plane down or cause millions of pounds worth of damage. But if there’s one thing that will make birds scarper from an airport, it’s a raptor. And Southampton’s flocks could have well met their match with the bird of prey Steve encounters.Ìý It looks like a falcon, it flies like a falcon but Steve has a bit of a surprise when he takes a closer look.

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Matt Baker discovers what it takes to harvest carrots – the winter staple we just can’t get enough of. But who’d have thought the humble vegetable showed such promise on the musical front? Matt joins the vegetable orchestra for an unusual recital.

Paul Martin picks up some thrifty and clever ideas from wildlife saviour Kate McCrae on how to help winter garden visitors get through the winter with a little bit of know-how in the kitchen. From a whisk bird feeder to a little sieve, a feeding station that defies raiding rats and squirrels, Paul also helps to make a pool from an old tyre to home amphibians or simply as a winter watering hole. Simple ideas for all the family to get stuck into.