General News 1 2 PET TRADE WORLD OCTOBER 2009www. pettradeworld. com " How much is that illegal doggy on the website." Pet buyers warned of dangers of classifed ads The UK's leading animal welfare charities have united to clamp down on illegal pet classified adverts following a record number of complaints from people buying poorly pets. Members of the Pet Advertising Advisory Group [ PAAG] have launched a new website aimed at both consumers and publishers. The site www. paag. org. uk will also encourage recession- hit members of the public to think carefully before buying a new family pet through classified advertisements. With the alarming rise in status dogs and underground dog fighting rings, the site also provides valuable help to publishers to ensure they don't inadvertently publish illegal or inappropriate ads. PAAG is made up of 12 animal welfare organisations, the Metropolitan Police, DEFRA and free- ads publisher Loot who have all noticed a worrying increase in the number of unsuitable pet related classified adverts appearing both online and in newspapers. In particular ads for banned breeds of dogs such as Pit Bull Terriers have become more common. These advertisements are illegal under animal welfare legislation. PAAG members are also concerned that consumers looking for a bargain family pet are falling foul of unscrupulous pet traffi ckers. Chairman of the Pet Advertising Advisory Group, Clarissa Baldwin OBE, explains: " We're urging people not to act on impulse and buy from a classifi ed ad but to think carefully before taking on a family pet. Without the proper research you could unwittingly end up supporting a puppy farmer or an illegal animal breeder. Sadly the recession has meant some people are now looking to make a quick buck by breeding animals - the end result is an infl ux of pets being sold online with no consideration given to their health or welfare." PAAG members were particularly concerned when a member of the public recently posted an online ad off ering a German Shepherd dog in exchange for an iphone or wireless laptop. This highlights a worrying trend that some people regard pets as disposable commodities. Consumer Direct reported a concerning 40% increase in the number of complaints related to animal and pet purchases from 2006 to 2008. In 2008 alone the helpline received 4,953 complaints about pet purchases compared to 3,787 calls in 2007 and 2,843 calls in 2006. The user- friendly PAAG website off ers consumers advice on a wide range of topics and now also boasts a new ' click through' button designed for pet owners to report any problems with animals bought online or through classifi eds. The site also aims to encourage publishers to be as uniform and transparent as possible when it comes to pet advertisements. The Animal Welfare Act now places a responsibility on the seller and buyer for the care of companion animals sold through classifi ed advertisements. The advertiser's responsibility however is purely ethical. With this in mind, PAAG has launched an appeal to the Committee for Advertising Practice for the introduction of a formal Code for the advertising of ' Companion Animals'. Publishers are being asked to run a short paragraph alongside any advertisements for sales of animals, birds, fi sh or exotic species, encouraging prospective buyers to ensure their choice and the place they buy it from is the right one for them. ¦ New position at Pets at Home Leading pet retailers, Pets at Home, has recently appointed Matthew Stead to the new position of director of multi- channel, in a move by the company to strengthen its online presence and retail. Previously marketing director at The White Company, Stead will sit on the Pets at Home operating board and will be in charge of bringing a multi- channel perspective to the company's retail approach. Whilst the company already has a strong presence with the wealth of ' bricks and mortar' retail outlets across the country, Stead will be tasked with building on the company's transactional website, including looking into the potential launch of an ' order online, collect in store' service. ¦

General News www. pettradeworld. comPET TRADE WORLD OCTOBER 2009 13 Blue peter chooses rescue pup as latest team member Dogs Trust, the UK's largest dog welfare charity, has rehomed Barney a 9 month old Dachshund/ Red Setter cross to Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton. Barney will become the 9th Blue Peter dog, following in the pawprints of a long list of famous pooches including Petra, Patch, Shep, Goldie, Bonnie, and Meg. He will share the sofa with current Blue Peter dogs Mabel and Lucy, Cookie and Socks the cats and Shelley the tortoise. The charity hopes that Barney will help inspire the dog owners of tomorrow to consider a rescue dog as a pet. Dogs Trust chief executive Clarissa Baldwin, says: " We are thrilled that Blue Peter has chosen a rescue dog as their latest canine team member. Barney is a charming little pup who was brought to one of our rehoming centres when he was found as a stray. He immediately impressed staff with his winning personality and they knew that he was destined to be a star! We wish Barney and Helen all the very best, and we all look forward to keeping up with their exciting adventures each week on the show." Good for Blue Peter raising the profi le of rescue dogs - Ed ¦ Dogs Trust rehomes dog to presenter Helen Skelton Helen Skelton Pets at Home choose IDM Software to protect margins Pets at Home have chosen LossManager, from IDM Software to help improve their loss prevention effi ciency and protect their margins. LossManager is the latest product from a team who have over 15 years experience pioneering solutions in this fi eld. It allows retailers to analyse data across their entire estate, integrating information from multiple sources and promoting collaborative working with other retail departments to quickly pinpoint and tackle losses. When combined with information from internal audit and other systems such as stock movement, cash movement, operator attendance and CCTV, retailers can very quickly get to grips with the bigger picture of internal loss. Scott Holland, Head of Loss Prevention for Pets at Home, recognised that by implementing data mining as a core element of his loss prevention strategy he would be able to effi ciently support the continued success and growth. Scott said: " While the vast majority of our colleagues operate to the highest ethical standards, I wanted a system that would help my team quickly identify and deal with the inevitable isolated cases of employee dishonesty that occur; however, much more important to me was to fi nd a supplier that had the expertise and vision to look beyond just the fraud and help me deliver the much higher returns available to Pets at Home by tackling process based losses". Scott continued: " After a thorough review of the suppliers and products available we chose IDM because they demonstrated an excellent level of expertise, which was evident in the vision and thought leadership that they shared with us and their genuine desire to work in partnership with us". Khuram Kirmani, CEO of IDM Software, said: " We are delighted to be working with Pets at Home. We have always prided ourselves on working closely with our clients to push the boundaries of data mining in Loss Prevention and are enthusiastic about helping Scott to deliver his goal of higher returns from a more holistic approach". ¦