Thursday, 15 January 2026, 12:24

Mar- 2020 -

3 March

UK’s first specialist veterinary heart clinic opens

Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service has launched the UK’s first congenital heart disease referral clinic for puppies and kittens. The Solihull clinic will assess pets who have recently had a heart murmur detected, and are younger than six months old. It will then recommend a course of action to…

3 March

Pet Owners

Brits spending more on pets than ever, research reveals

Brits are spending more on their pets than ever, according to Argos Petcare. Petcare sales at Argos soared by 70% in just five years, with sales this January up an extraordinary 19% on the same month in 2019. Argos attributed the rise of the ‘petfluencer’ for the rise in the…

3 March

Pet Owners

Pet snakes pile on the pounds due to diet and lack of space, says BVA

Obesity in snakes is a growing issue which has been attributed to over feeding and a lack of exercise, the president of the British Veterinary Association (BVA) has said. Daniella Dos Santos said she has seen a large number of pet snakes with obesity issues whilst working as a small…

3 March

Business Bites

Coronavirus is stepping up a gear – this could be serious

When I started this column back in December I did not anticipate a single subject would dominate it so much, but as I wrote last week it would be silly not to address the latest coronavirus circumstances given that each new development so far has had a profound impact on…

2 March

Retailers

Kirkintilloch pet shop closes after 20 years

A pet store in Kirkintilloch has closed its doors after more than twenty years in business. In a statement released on the shop’s Facebook page today, the owners of Wagtail Pet Suppliers said: “As of the end of March 2020 we will be closing the shop. We are giving up…

2 March

Retailers

Utility Bidder announces partnership with PIF

Business switching advice service Utility Bidder has announced its new partnership with the Pet Industry Federation (PIF). In teaming up with Utility Bidder, PIF’s 2,000 members will benefit from “competitive rates” on gas and electricity as well as being able to take advantage of a personal account manager who will…

2 March

Pet Owners

11% of cat owners take their pets to the vet once a year

Some 23% of cat owners and 11% of dog owners take their pets to the vets once a year, with some pets never been taken to the vets. According to a new research conducted by MSD Animal Health, surveying over 5,000 pet owners from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the…

2 March

Government & Legislation

Government launches ‘Petfished’ campaign

The government has today (2 March) launched a new campaign aimed at raising awareness of puppy and kitten farming, with the aim of encouraging the public to be aware of illegal, low-welfare breeders. The ‘Petfished’ campaign warns potential owners that they may be “more likely to come across deceitful sellers…

2 March

Business Bites

Entrepreneurs relief may be scrapped by Sunak

The new chancellor, Rishi Sunak, may scrap entrepreneur’s relief to raise £3bn a year as a means to bring in some extra dosh for the Treasury. Sunak will undoubtedly be looking for ways to raise extra revenue given the government’s infrastructure spending plans as it seeks to make a visible…

Feb- 2020 -

28 February

Veterinary

46% of vet students failing to make ends meet, study suggests

Part-time work for veterinary students is on the rise as almost half (46%) say that they have less money than they need to live on, according to new data from the latest BVA and AVS Survey 2019. The findings, which were presented at the annual AVS Congress over the weekend,…