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| PET GAZETTE | SMALL ANIMALS
INCREASING AWARENESS
Small animals are commonly seen as a ‘first pet’ for children or anyone who wants to
learn how to look after and properly care for a furry companion, however the knowledge
on their welfare seems overlooked by the general population leading numerous pet
companies to step up and raise awareness
T
here is a plethora of
information available
regarding the proper and
improper ways cat and
dog owners treat their
companions assisting the trade in updating
its information and due to the popularity of the
pets, some people may even gain residual
knowledge of the correct way to look after
them. However it can be argued that this isn’t
the same when it comes to small animals.
This is not down to a lack of trying among
professionals in the sector; efforts are being
consistently and continually made to help
owners of these animals have a safer, healthier
and happier relationship with their pets.
In February, pet food manufacturer Burgess
Pet Care launched the first ever guinea pig
census in order to gain an understanding of
how well the rodents are being taken care of
and increase awareness about their welfare
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needs. Through this, hopefully the industry
will identify where there are gaps in the
population’s knowledge and continue to do
their best to address these areas.
With rabbits being the nation’s third
favourite pet, Rabbit Awareness Week, the
initiative which encourages practices to
focus on their wellbeing will enter its 13th
year in 2019. It was research backed by the
creators of the initiative that gave the industry
its substantiated confirmation on the long
speculated idea that feeding muesli to rabbits
could be harmful. Since, the efforts of the
trade to remove the sale of muesli from stores
and advise owners against it can not be
applauded enough.
Further to this, research published last year
by the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare
Science found that some ways of handling
and holding a rabbit could potentially cause
harm to the animal. The study said ‘scruffing’
- the act of holding a rabbit by the scruff of
its neck - was reminiscent of how a predator
might handle a bunny and induce trauma
while putting it on its back could cause it to
enter a trance-like state. The findings of this
study was important as due to the size of
the animal and the way kittens and puppies
are held, it is not hard to imagine that many
owners will naturally assume this is an
acceptable way to handle them.
Our lengthy companionship with rabbits
has clearly had an impact; scientists from the
University of Porto found that bunny brains
had shrunk over time due to domestication as
the part of the brain which caused it to sense
fear had decreased meaning they no longer
fear humans.
The trade’s understanding of small animals
will never cease and neither will its attempts
to educate the nation on the best and most
appropriate care for its smaller furrier friends.
March 2019