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Pet owners face code of practice

New codes of practice for dog, cat and horse owners with practical advice on how best to look after their pets’ health and wellbeing were published today.

Animal welfare organisations and vets helped Defra draw up the codes of practice for dogs, cats and equines, designed to give people information about pet care including diet and exercise, and to explain owners’ and keepers’ legal duties to their animals.

Animal Welfare Minister Jim Fitzpatrick unveiled the new booklets on a visit to a Dogs Trust re-homing centre in London to back the charity’s Christmas campaign to reduce the number of dogs given as gifts in December that are abandoned soon after.

Jim Fitzpatrick said:

“We’re a nation of animal lovers, but sadly too many people still don’t know how to look after their pets properly and get things wrong. It’s the animals who suffer as a result.

"In 2008 the RSPCA gave out advice to help improve the welfare of more than 107,000 animals.

“The new Codes of Practice contain clear and straightforward advice, supported by organisations including the RSPCA, Dogs Trust, PDSA, British Veterinary Association and British Horse Society, and they don’t place any new requirements on owners and keepers. They are designed to explain to people their responsibility and legal duty of care to their pets, and to help protect animals from pain, injury and disease.”

Your comments and views:
Gillbo64
Dogsey Junior
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 143
Female 
 
04-11-2008, 05:45 PM
It's a shame that people should need to be told to do these things really. They all seem such common sense!
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random
Dogsey Veteran
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 14,995
Female 
 
04-11-2008, 06:55 PM
Seems a bit broad spec to me, my cats are very sociable and would be lost as solitary pets, but aside from nit-picking, if they can't put stricter rules on real disgusting animal cruelty which involves deaths and even murders of animals, how are they going to police people who simply don't look after them as well as they should?
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Vicki
Dogsey Veteran
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 41,933
Female 
 
04-11-2008, 06:58 PM
Originally Posted by random View Post
if they can't put stricter rules on real disgusting animal cruelty which involves deaths and even murders of animals, how are they going to police people who simply don't look after them as well as they should?
Totally agree with this, Kel.
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Sez & Amber
Dogsey Senior
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 655
Female 
 
04-11-2008, 06:58 PM
It seems to me that "good" owners, and those who have researched their pets before bringing them home, will probably be doing all these things anyway. The sorts of people who need to be told to do these things are probably unlikely to bother reading the new legislation anyway

Ultimately, if it educates a few owners and prevents some pets being neglected or ending up in rescues because of owner-issues, then it's time and money well-spent, but IMHO, if the owner was at all interested, then they would be looking this stuff up already, either at their vets, online or in their library.

Personally, I'd prefer seeing more being done to prevent serious neglect and unnecessary deaths of pets.
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Luke
Dogsey Veteran
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 7,780
Male 
 
04-11-2008, 07:11 PM
Seems obscure, like Kel my cats would be lost as singletons! They get ill if ones away at the vets for too long!
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Trouble
Dogsey Veteran
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 14,265
Female  Diamond Supporter 
 
04-11-2008, 07:15 PM
my cats are not solitary animals they both have cat friends who come to the back door and wait for them to come out to play
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hectorsmum
Dogsey Veteran
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,982
Female 
 
05-11-2008, 02:05 PM
OK

i realise some people do need to have everything spelt out to them on how to run their lives and what to do BUT.......... if this is not put out into the public then it will go unnoticed.

its all being well to publish it on a website but how many people will think of DEFRA for pet advise.

if its going to work then it needs to be in print in all public places ie: librarys, supermarkets, vets etc.
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