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| PET GAZETTE | PIF
CLASSIFIED | PET GAZETTE |
AQUATIC WHOLESALER
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NOTICEBOARD
VOICE FROM
THE INDUSTRY
Is your business missing out on important information? Nigel Baker, chief
executive of the PIF, reminds you never to overlook the ‘bleeding obvious’
A
t a recent event where PIF had a
trade stand, I was looking at our
stand and a sudden thought
dawned on me; whilst it had
lots of graphics about what we
could do for members, nowhere
did it actually mention that we were the trade
association for pet businesses! It made me
realise that not only do we need to change
our trade stand to explain more clearly what
we do, but also how often do we actually
miss the “bleeding obvious!”. I used to live in
London for about ten years, but did I visit all
the sites whilst I was there? Did I know where
the Prince of Wales lived? Did I ever go to the
Changing of the Guard or visit many of the
museums? It’s the same in any walk of life in
either what you do or where you work, that
you need to take a hard look at what you
do, how you do it and ask whether you are
missing something very obvious!
So, let me ask you something else.
Everyone reading this must work in the pet
industry (which is why you are reading Pet
Gazette!), but can you recite the five animal
needs from the 2006 Animal Welfare Act? If
you can’t, then shame on you because they
govern the way we look after our pets! If you
sell pets, board pets, breed pets, manufacture
or supply products for pets or sell products
associated with pets, then you should be
able to recite the five animal needs. You
can read the Act at www.legislation.gov.uk/
ukpga/2006/45/contents and I would strongly
recommend that you log onto this page and
see what this Act means and what it does.
are dealing with a vast range of different ways
people can buy animals, and the 1951 Act is
now very out of date.
It’s the same story with the Boarding
Establishments Act, which became law in
1963. In 2017, we have kennels, catteries,
kennels and catteries combined, home-
boarders and dog daycare plus various
hybrid versions of this.
Roll forwards to 2018, and welcome to the
Animal Establishment Regulations. The 1951
Act (Pet Animals), the 1963 Act (Boarding);
the Breeding of Dogs Act; the Riding
Establishments Act, and the Performing
Animals Act will all get repealed and become
part of the new Animal Establishment
Regulations.
Probably the two biggest changes you
will notice in these regulations is that the
scope of licensing i.e. who need a licence,
will be increased to include those people
who currently sit on the fringe of licensing;
and the criteria used to undertake
inspections (model conditions) will
become mandatory. With local authorities
using a wide variety of model conditions,
this should start to bring about some
standardisation in licensing expectations.
SMALL ANIMAL BREEDING
I am pleased to tell you that your trade
association, the Pet Industry Federation, is
at the heart of the discussions on the new
licensing laws, having been asked to sit
on the DEFRA expert panel along with the
RSPCA, the National Companion Animal
Focus Group (a group of local authorities);
the British Veterinary Association, Battersea
Dogs & Cats Home; the sector groups
(representing canine, feline; companion
animal and equine), British Horse Society
(BHS) and the Kennel Club.
If you want to know more about what PIF
does or want to get involved, the have a look
at our website www.petfederation.co.uk
AQUATIC LIVESTOCK
JOB OPPORTUNITY
ACCESSORIES
LICENSING CHANGES
In 2018 you will see the biggest change in
licensing in over 60 years. In 1951 when the
Pet Animals Act became law, third party sellers
had not been invented nor had the internet,
so the Act was really about traditional pet
shops and the selling of livestock. In 2017, we
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