Coronavirus

Linnaeus expands mental health support

Linnaeus has announced that all employees will have access to mental health support through more than 100 mental health first aiders. The veterinary group, which is part of Mars Petcare, has more than 120 primary care and referral centre sites across the UK, all of which have been impacted by…

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Burns Pet Nutrition donates pet food to Hope Rescue amid Covid-19 crisis

Kidwell-based pet food company Burns Pet Nutrition has announced it has donated thousands of pounds worth of pet food to South Wales charity, Hope Rescue. The pet food company, which specialises in producing high quality dog food made up of all-natural ingredients, is providing the centre with three-months’ worth of…

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Dogs to be trained to detect Covid-19 in patients

Medical Detection Dogs has announced it will begin to intensively train six dogs in the hopes that they can detect the coronavirus strain in humans.   The charity believes the dogs could provide a “rapid, non-invasive” diagnosis of the virus. It is now working alongside the London School of Hygiene and…

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Bira welcomes 100% government-backed loans for small businesses

The British Retailers Association (Bira) has welcomed a new government scheme to offer 100% taxpayer-backed loans for the UK’s small businesses. Yesterday (27 April), Rishi Sunak announced the scheme would start next week offering firms loans of up to £50,000 within days of applying. To access the loans, which are…

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UK economy not expected to recover until 2023, study suggests

The UK’s economy is not expected to return to normal until 2023 due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report issued by economic forecasting group EY Item Club. The group has warned that it is likely to take three years for the UK economy to return to the…

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Chancellor announces 100% guarantee on small business loans

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the launch of a new ‘bounce back’ emergency loan scheme for small businesses, which will offer 100% guarantees on emergency loans. Today (27 April) Sunak told the House of Commons that the scheme would begin next week, offering SMEs loans of up to £50,000. The…

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ONS suspends ‘High Demand Basket’ survey data

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that its increasing costs of online pet food has been suspended due to issues with the data collected. The ‘High Demand Basket’ survey revealed a 3.1% increase in price for the two weeks between 16-22 March and 23-29 March, with an average…

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Newcastle Dog & Cat Shelter to halts donations and rehoming work amid Covid-19 crisis

Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter has announced it is refusing donations and temporarily stopping its re-homing work, due to the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement on the Newcastle Dog and Cat Shelter’s website it said due to the latest government advice surrounding Covid-19, it is no longer able to accept…

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Chancellor considering 100% guarantee on small business loans

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering offering a 100% guarantee on loans to small businesses of up to £25,000.  According to the Financial Times, Sunak is set to up the guarantee, which currently sits at 80%, in a bid to make it easier for banks to supply the loans and comes after the Bank…

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Global pet trade writes open letter in response to end live animal trade

Global pet trade associations have teamed up with animal keeping organisations to write an open letter in response to calls to end all live animal trade amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Trade bodies from across the UK, Europe, USA and Canada have all added their names to the open letter, which…

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