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Mar- 2020 -

16 March

BSAVA Congress 2020 cancelled

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has announced that its Congress 2020 will be cancelled amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The event was scheduled to take place between Thursday 2 April and Sunday 05 April 2020 in Birmingham. Its cancellation comes only two weeks after the BSAVA said that the…

16 March

Features

What will the spread of coronavirus mean for businesses?

The serious health concerns brought about by the coronavirus outbreak (officially Covid-19) have been well documented, as nations impose travel restrictions and enter quarantine to tackle the spread. The UK Government recently confirmed that sick employees will receive statutory sick pay from the first day off work, not the fourth,…

13 March

Government & Legislation

Animal welfare bill supported by Scottish Parliament

The Animal and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Bill has been passed unanimously by Scottish Parliament at stage one. The new legislation, which was debated yesterday (12 March), will increase penalties for the “most serious” animal welfare offences, and provide for fixed penalties in relation to animal welfare offences…

13 March

Veterinary

Animalcare launches four new webinars

Animalcare announced it has launched a further four webinars that are free to view on The Webinar Vet. The webinars have been created as part of Animalcare’s Learning Alliance, an initiative to offer “easily accessible, high quality” continued professional development (CPD) on current and emerging topics in veterinary medicine. The…

13 March

Business Bites

BT’s boss catches it, markets rebounding, pain medication prices spike

Today I am going to rattle through a wider selection of stories than normal because the spread of the virus is hitting so many sectors hard, with key figures in the business community affected. The markets are recovering some of their losses this morning after having their worst selloff since…

13 March

Business

BIRA welcomes increased support for SMEs amid coronavirus crisis

The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) has welcomed the Chancellor’s emergency package to help small retail businesses amid the coronavirus crisis. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered his first Budget on Wednesday (11 March) which included a £30bn package to help the UK economy respond to the coronavirus. He…

13 March

Economy

Government to introduce 2% digital services tax

The UK Government has confirmed plans to introduce a new 2% tax on the revenues of online marketplaces which “derive value from UK users”, starting 1 April 2020. The new tax also applies to search engines and social media services, and these businesses will be liable to the tax when…

12 March

Retailers

Project Blu launches partnership with Mars Petcare

Welsh pet brand start-up, ‘Project Blu’ has launched its partnership with Mars Petcare in a bid to reduce the environmental impact of pet products through a number of technologies. Project Blu has created a range of fabric dog beds, cat beds, collars, leashes and toys are woven from recycled Polyethylene…

12 March

Business

Bella and Duke secures £3.5m funding

Pet food brand Bella and Duke announced it has raised £3.5m in its latest funding round. The investment will be used to help the firm to accelerate sales, marketing and recruitment activities, as well as expand into the cat food market. The latest round of investment was led by Mobeus,…

12 March

Awards

Solihull-based vets awarded ‘Best UK Vet 2020’

Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service has been awarded the winner of the ‘Best UK Vet Awards 2020’. The Solihull-based veterinary hospital which provides specialist veterinary care both for pets in the surrounding area and for those referred by their own veterinary surgeons for specialist investigation and treatment. The facilities…