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Pet Spending Hits Record Levels
It’s hard to say enough good things about indulgent pet owners who are willing to whip out their credit cards for beauty and spa products, designer apparel and a whole slew of other upscale items that pamper pets. After all, they will help boost pet industry sales 5.6 percent this year to a record $43.4 billion, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (Greenwich, Conn.).
Total pet spending was $41.2 billion in 2007, APPMA said.
“We’re noticing more baby boomers are pet owners, and they are treating their pets like members of the family,” said Bob Vetere, president of APPMA. “For empty-nesters, pets are filling a void in their lives, and they’re showing their appreciation to their pets.”...
Hartz Mountain Recalls Cat Vitamins
The Hartz Mountain Corp. (Secaucus, N.J.) in March voluntarily recalled specific lots of cat vitamins made for the company by UFAC (USA) Inc. (Baconton, Ga.) due to concerns of potential Salmonella contamination in some bottles.
The recall included 739 bottles of Hartz Vitamin Care for Cats with lot code SZ 22771 and UPC 32700-97701. Normal testing by Hartz and UFAC did not reveal the presence of Salmonella in any Hartz products, but sampling by the Food and Drug Administration did.
he company recalled a different lot code of cat vitamins, also made by UFAC, last November due to similar concerns...
New Jersey May Restrict Dog and Cat Sales
A wide-ranging bill that broadly defines “breeder” would prohibit certain breeding practices, set limits on the number of dogs and cats sold per year, impose care and facility standards, and spell out the information to be disclosed at time of sale.
Under Assembly Bill 1591, a “breeder” is defined as “any person who owns or operates a breeding facility and sells or offers for sale more than five cats or dogs per year, regardless of whether or not the person holds a valid breeder license issued by the USDA.” The term “pet dealer” includes breeders, kennels, pet shops and persons selling more than five cats or dogs per year who are exempted from the federal license requirements established by the Animal Welfare Act... |
