Fewer cats micro-chipped than dogs, says UK charity
Battersea Dogs and Cats Home has found that pet owners are far less likely to micro-chip their pet cats than their pooches, and very few cat owners even call in to say that their pet is missing.
Only 1% of stray cats that made their way to Battersea Home were reunited with their owners in 2007, compared with 41% of dogs, simply because less than 3% of cats were micro-chipped or carried any form of identification at all.
The charity believes that a contributing factor to the trend is people’s notion that once their cat is lost there is little chance of being reunited.
“These worrying statistics reflect the tendency owners
have to leave their cats to their own devices. From
Battersea's perspective, it means that almost all the
stray cats we receive are without any identification and
are not reported as missing, which makes the job of
re-uniting them with their owners almost impossible,”
said Lucy Reade, Lost Dogs and Cats Line, Battersea Dogs
and Cats Home.
“As cats can tend to stray, it is all the more important
that they are micro-chipped and can therefore be
identified. Likewise, the chances of a cat and owner
being reunited increases dramatically if a report is
made.”
Source: Steve O’Malley, UK Pets, Dec 2007
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US and Chinese governments reach pet food safety agreement
American inspectors will now be able to access Chinese factories in accordance to a food and drug safety agreement reached by the US and Chinese governments. The agreement has been welcomed by Bush administration negotiators as a key step toward addressing the safety of imported goods. The agreement also benefits Chinese manufacturers, as it guarantees continued access to the US market, and may help to redeem the tarnished publicity surrounding its products.
Altough praising the intent behind the agreement, some critics believe that it fails to present enough safeguards to stop future imports of pet food ingredients mixed with adulterants.
“I would say it’s not a strong enough signal to the Chinese,” said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives at Consumers Union. “It seems to indicate that we’re not at all concerned about these problems. I think the administration is underestimating the concerns of consumers and the public.”
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has provided a summary of the agreement, saying the deal would begin by addressing preserved foods, pet food and pet treats, raw materials used in making food, and farm-raised fish, including shrimp and catfish.
Under the new agreement, Chinese exporters to the US will have to register with the Chinese government and agree to annual inspections by China’s office of General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The agreement also requires for the US and China to notify each other within 48 hours of learning of “the emergence of significant risk to public health relation to product safety, recalls and other situations.” In addition, both sides have pledged to set up a working group that will develop benchmarks with which to regulate products.
Source: Petfood Industry, Dec 2007
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Tasteless Toys
Just when you thought you had seen it all, a soft toy company has come up with a new range of cuddly animals which come in made-to-measure body-bags and a personalized toe-tag describing the nature of their demise. That’s right—the Roadkill range of ferrets, rabbits and foxes come flat-packed, tyre-marked and lying in a pool of synthetic insides.
The macabre mind behind Twitch the raccoon, Pop the Weasel, Splodge the Hedgehog, Grind the Rabbit, Smudge the Squirrel and Puddle the Vole, is Compost Communication’s Adam Arber, who works in advertising and has been creating the toys in his spare time.
“I asked my mother-in-law and wife what they thought,” he said. “I thought they might be upset but they just laughed.”
He believes the toys would appeal to people with a similar sense of humour, and “probably not anyone easily upset.”
So far, the plush toys have drawn a mixed reaction.
Source: Steve O’Malley, UK Pets & metro.co.uk, Dec 2007
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