8 | PET GAZETTE | TRADE TALK
VETS
‘ OVERWHELMING RELIANCE ON NON-UK EU VETERINARY STAFF ’, CLAIMS COMMITTEE
A report has found that there is an overwhelming reliance on non-UK EU citizens to fill crucial official veterinary positions in the UK .
The UK currently has some of the highest farm animal welfare standards in the world and there is cross-sector support for maintaining those high standards after Brexit . The Committee calls on the Government to ensure that the industry is able to retain or recruit qualified staff to fill these roles post-Brexit .
Chair of the EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee , Lord Teverson said : “ The UK has some of the highest farm animal welfare standards in the world and UK producers are rightly proud of those . We see no reason why Brexit should diminish those , as long as the Government is aware of the challenges ahead and acts accordingly . “ We heard evidence of undeniable concern that opening up the UK market to free global trade poses a number of issues . As we said in our last report , Brexit : agriculture , the Government may find it hard to reconcile its free trade ambitions with its commendable desire for preserving high farm animal welfare standards . We heard overwhelming support for farm animal welfare standards to be maintained or improved . To help achieve that , we urge the Government to secure the inclusion of high farm animal welfare standards in any free trade agreements it negotiates after Brexit .
“ Whilst Brexit provides the UK with the unique opportunity to review and potentially improve farm animal welfare standards , the Government will need to consider the effect of increasing standards on the competitiveness of UK producers as well the future trading relationship with the EU .”
WORK
PURINA PUSHES FORWARD WITH THE PETS AT WORK ALLIANCE
42 percent of those aged 18-34 across the UK would like or would enjoy a dogfriendly workplace . The new findings from Purina PetCare prompted the company to launch the Pets at Work ( PAW ) Alliance to encourage firms to become dog-friendly .
Purina has shared the following reasons for inviting dogs into the workplace : n Dogs can reduce stress n Boosting morale n Improving working relationships n Work life balance To join the Pets at Work ( PAW ) Alliance , ask your firm to download the toolkit with six easy steps for a successful Pets at Work scheme , as well as health and safety advice , responsible pet ownership guidelines and education and advice on workspace requirements
at : https :// www . purina . co . uk / pins / pets-at-work .
BUSINESS
14K ENTREPRENEURS ARE IN DEBT DUE TO STARTUP LOANS
Since 2012 , Startup Loans UK have given out 45,618 loans to aspiring entrepreneurs dreaming of creating the next big thing ( as of February 2017 ).
On average 30.2 percent of entrepreneurs will default on their loan repayments . Roughly 14,000 aspiring entrepreneurs are now in debt . Founded in 2012 by Lord Young , and backed by David Cameron ’ s Conservative government , Startup Loans U . K . provide small business loans to business owners up to £ 25,000 .
According to Startup Loans , seven out of ten recipients of the Startup Loan wouldn ’ t have received a loan from elsewhere . Meaning simply that banks don ’ t feel comfortable giving loans to these aspiring entrepreneurs , but the government does . Carly Ward , entrepreneur , who took a
Startup Loan said : “ I took a Start Up Loan of £ 20k to help me with my business . It really helped with cashflow at the time but has caused longer term cashflow issues . I think it ’ s a good scheme for people starting up but many people may not think of the cashflow issues it could cause later down the line ”
Muhammad El Dharrat , entrepreneur , was promised a Startup Loan : “ I was promised a loan but they rejected my application three times . They pretended everything was rosy and I ’ d get one , they just gave me the run around and I felt like I was there to tick some boxes for them .”
www . petgazette . biz August 2017