Coronavirus

Jul- 2020 -

2 July

Pawexpo 2020 postponed

The organisers of Pawexpo have announced that the pet trade show will no longer take place this year in light of the ongoing pandemic. Following a series of discussions between organisers and the pet retail market, the event’s organiser, Hyve, has confirmed that Pawexpo will instead return as a live…

1 July

1,600 exhibitors confirm participation in Interzoo 2021

Over 1,600 exhibitors have already confirmed their participation in the next Interzoo, which is to be held in Germany next year. Earlier this year, Interzoo announced it has rescheduled to take place in June next, with Zoomark International moving to 2022 to accommodate the change due to the Covid-19 pandemic.…

Jun- 2020 -

30 June

Government confirms changes to ‘flexible’ furlough scheme

The UK government has confirmed the latest set of changes to its “flexible” furlough scheme – dubbed CJRS V2 – ahead of its launch of the 1 July. HM Revenue and Customs has set out the new guidance as the current version of the Coronavirus Job retention Scheme (CJRS) ends…

30 June

Reopening is ‘no magic bullet’ for retail, says BRC

Reopening is “no magic bullet” for retail, the British Retail Consortium has warned despite UK footfall improving since lockdown restrictions were lifted earlier this month. The BRC’s footfall tracker found that UK footfall decreased 53.4% year-on-year during the second week of reopening in England and NI. This is compared to a decrease of…

29 June

Guide for ‘considerate shopping’ launched by Usdaw, SRC and the Scottish government

Shopworkers union Usdaw and the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), along with the Scottish government have partnered to launch a five-step guide to encourage “considerate shopping”, as retailers are permitted to re-open their stores from today (29 June). The trade unions said the reopening of non-essential shops marks a “crucial time”…

23 June

PM confirms relaxation of two-metre social distancing rule

Boris Johnson has announced a reduction in the two-metre social distancing rule. In a speech in parliament this afternoon, the PM said that while maintaining at least a two-metre distance is still “recommended where possible”, the official guidance will be updated to recommend “one-metre-plus” where necessary, if “mitigations” such as…

19 June

92% of shopworkers oppose longer Sunday working hours, says Usdaw

Some 92% of retail staff in England have opposed large shops opening for more than six hours on a Sunday, as the government considers deregulating Sunday trading. According to a survey by shopworkers trade union Usdaw, 66% of the 11,000 retail staff said they feel they are pressured to work…

16 June

Footfall up 41% yesterday morning as shoppers returned to high streets

Retail footfall across high streets, shopping centres and retail parks in England increased by 41.7% yesterday morning (15 June) in comparison to last week, and by 51.7% in England’s high streets, according to the latest data from retail experts Springboard. The 51.7% rise in footfall in high streets from last…

16 June

Yumove announces partnership with Pawsquad

Vet joint supplement brand Youmove has announced its partnership with PawSquad to offer veterinary advice 24/7 to its UK subscribers, supporting long-term preventative care for animals. The move comes as a recent Yumove survey among dog owners highlighted that because of lockdown pet owners are attending vets less (60%) and…

11 June

WSAVA World Congress 2020 postponed until 2021

Organisers of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) have postponed its 2020 World Congress due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The global event was scheduled to be held in Warsaw, Poland, from 23-26 September, in collaboration with the Federation of Companion Animal Veterinary Associations (FECAVA) and the Polish Small Animal…