Covid
Covid-19 had a profound and lasting impact on the UK pet industry, reshaping consumer habits, retail operations, and supply chain resilience. Under this tag, Pet Gazette explores how pet shops, distributors, and petcare brands navigated lockdown restrictions, staffing challenges, product shortages, and evolving customer expectations. We also report on the post-Covid trading landscape — including lasting shifts towards online sales, changes in in-store footfall, altered buying patterns, and recovery strategies. Coverage is tailored to support pet retailers and supply chain professionals adapting to the sector’s ongoing evolution in the wake of the pandemic.
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Oct- 2020 -22 OctoberCoronavirus
Sunak extends Covid scheme to pay up to half of wages
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced increases to the Job Support Scheme, which will now see the government pay up to half of employees wages. As part of the updated scheme, employers will pay less and employees will work fewer hours to qualify, with the taxpayer subsidy now doubled. The increase…
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22 OctoberIndustry News
PitPat adds FirstVet to its Life plan member scheme
PitPat has announced a partnership with FirstVet to help its members during Covid-19. The company which provides online fitness trackers for dogs has teamed up with FirstVet to allow customers to access “on-demand” video consultations with “local, qualified veterinarians.” PitPat formed the idea due to “continued restrictions brought about by…
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22 OctoberRetailers
Marston pet shop converted to charity shop
The former owner of Marston-based pet shop Pads and Paws has given his lease to a hospice charity but will continue to run the site, according to local paper the Oxford Mail. Sean Woodward reportedly made the move after witnessing the work Sobell House Hospice does “first-hand”, later asking the…
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20 OctoberCoronavirus
Manchester moved into Tier three
Prime minister Boris Johnson has announced that Manchester will be placed into Tier 3 Covid-19 restrictions, after talks between mayor Andy Burnham and the UK government collapsed. As a result of being placed under Tier 3, pubs and restaurants must close unless they are supplying substantial meals and outside household…
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19 OctoberCoronavirus
Wales announces ‘firebreak’ lockdown
The Welsh government has announced a two-week “firebreak” national lockdown, which will force business closures across the country from 23 October at 6pm until Monday 9 November. According to BBC News, first minister Mark Drakeford said the “time-limited firebreak” will be “a short, sharp, shock to turn back the clock,…
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19 OctoberIndustry News
Walker and Drake plans team expansion
Walker and Drake, a dog food business located in Barnsley, has announced plans to hire three new field sales executives. The business, which sells cold pressed dog food, launched originally in June 2020, but due to the Covid-19 lockdown Walker and Drake made most of its sales online via its…
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16 OctoberPet Owners
PetPanion urges owners to keep sanitisers away from pets
Petpanion is urging pet owners to not put hand sanitisers near their pets as Covid-19 restrictions return. The pet health and wellbeing app, which says the third most common behavioural issue exhibited by the dogs profiled on its service is that of eating non-food items, is warning owners to be…
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15 OctoberTrade Organisations
Covid and Brexit concerns see Petquip membership rise
Petquip has seen an increase in membership from companies which are concerned about uncertainty resulting from the UK’s transition from the EU and further Covid-19 restrictions. The trade association’s sister organisations, Gardenex and the Commercial Horticulture Association, have also seen a membership rise; all three being part of Federation of…
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15 OctoberCoronavirus
London to move to Tier 2
London and Essex will face tougher Tier 2 Covid-19 restrictions from Saturday (17 October), including a ban on the mixing of households, local MPs have been told. According to the BBC, health secretary Matt Hancock is set to update MPs on the latest measures in the Commons later today. Under…
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14 OctoberFeatures
The importance of tackling cancer quickly
The COVID-19 pandemic is still taking a terrible direct toll on human populations, but it can also have a terrible impact on pets needing veterinary attention, including for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Like in human oncology, rapid identification, diagnosis and treatment of cancer can make all the difference…
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