Hayley de Ronde

Animal Welfare & Behaviour Specialist

Covering Beds, Herts, Bucks & Beyond

Since pets need daily care to lead healthy and happy lives, they can help kids learn how to be responsible in these and other ways. By feeding their dog, cat, or other furry friend on a regular basis, filling up the water bowl, cleaning the litter box, or any of the other daily duties pet owners have, your kids will learn a sense of responsibility that will last them a lifetime. Kids will also learn how important it is to maintain a regular schedule each day not just with their pet’s activities, but their own as well.

I am a strong believer in avoiding chemical products wherever possible however, where animal hygiene is concerned, chemical products are a necessity for the prevention and reduction of disease.

Vitec Global Limited has launched two new products onto the UK Pet Market through Debonaire Exotic Animal Supplies, Pet Shield™ and Zoo Shield™.

These non-toxic, antimicrobial cleaning products use hydrophobic technology to destroy pathogens on contact “continuously killing 99.9% of bacteria”.

The Coca-Cola and WWF Arctic Home campaign was launched at the Science Museum Thursday 17th January 2013, with an interactive augmented reality experience that brought the issue of climate change, and the plight of the polar bear, to life. 

The polar bear has been an iconic marketing figure for the Coca-Cola company for 90 years, representing family and togetherness for the brand. It is for this reason Coca-Cola is pledging over £2.5million over 3 years to help conserve the home of the polar bear and to help ensure their plight is brought closer to home to consumers. 

The money pledged will be used to:

• Protect and manage what is left of the polar bears environment.
• Aid research into understanding polar bear population and habitat.
• Reduce conflict between man and polar bear, as habitat decreases.
• Fund a Polar Bear Summit, to highlight the issues it faces.
• Tackle climate change and educate on our interdependence with nature.

Raising awareness of climate change and the plight of the polar bear, Arctic Home forms part of a global partnership between Coca-Cola and WWF that began in 2007 to reduce the company’s carbon emissions and to facilitate water conversation and sustainable agriculture, by reducing Coca-Cola’s environmental impact. 

WWF are working to sustain the arctic home of the polar bear (and the many other species that require this unique environment to survive), but without government support their ability is limited. WWF is encouraging Arctic governments to hold a polar bear summit this year, to ensure the plight of the polar bear is highlighted.

The funds raised to aid the Arctic Home campaign, and the public interest generated, has the potential to attract high level attention from government leaders, with the potential to make positive changes to our future and that of the polar bear!

• ‘Global warming' describes long term increases in temperature of the earth’s atmosphere.
• 'Climate’ refers to the average weather in a region over a period of typically 30 years or more. 
• 'Climate change’ refers to the recent changes in climate, which have been observed since the early 1900’s due to global warming
• 'Greenhouse gases’ are essential to the earths atmosphere, but in the right quantities.
• Global temeratures have increased by 1oC since pre-industrial times. The last time humans saw a change like this was the dawn of civilisation.
• A rise of just 1oC will create huge problems in future, for man and wildlife, which is already being seen in the Arctic. 
• Even if all greenhouse gas emissions were stopped, global temperature will continue to rise due to the gasses already in the atmosphere.

Without IMMEDIATE action on climate change, both humans and polar bears face a very uncertain future!