Global Pet Expo Debuts in Orlando
The show, held March 13-15 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., was the first co-sponsored by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (Greenwich, Conn.) and the Pet Industry Distributors Association (Bel Air, Md.)...

Rayovac Buys Tetra Holding GmbH
Rayovac Corp. (Atlanta) announced on March 15 that it would pay approximately $550 million to acquire Tetra Holding GmbH from a private equity group, transforming itself quickly from a leader in the North American specialty pet supplies category to a leader on the global stage...

Natural Pet Health Product Sales Soaring
Sales of natural pet health products are expected to reach $112 million by 2009, an increase of 149 percent from $45 million in 2004, according to a new report by Packaged Facts (New York)...

APPMA's Pets Add Life Campaign Launches
Public service announcements demonstrating the joys and benefits of pet ownership recently began airing on NBC TV stations in Las Vegas and Reno, Nev., Pocatello/Idaho Falls, Idaho, Helena, Mont., Yuma, Ariz., and Casper, Wyo...

FAA Augments Safe Air Travel for Animals Act
As of April, U.S. airlines must report the death or injury of a “family household pet” during air travel to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division...

California Pet Companies Fined for Illegal Pesticide Sales
The California Department of Pesticide Regulation is seeking more than $3 million in fines from 13 pet products firms for selling unregistered foreign flea treatments, the agency announced in late February...

USDA Creates Organic Pet Food Task Force
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is assembling a task force of nutrition specialists, suppliers and other experts to develop proposed organic labeling standards for pet food, according to the American Pet Product Manufacturers Association (Greenwich, Conn.)...

Retail Performance Rises in February
After watching numbers decline for four straight months, retailers saw gains in customer traffic and sales in February. The Retail Sector Performance Index rose 5.3 points to 55.6, according to a monthly survey by the National Retail Federation (Washington)...

Consumer Confidence Dives in February
Consumer confidence stood at 79.1 in February, according to the Associated Press/Ipsos CASH Index—down significantly from 92.5 in January and 91.7 in February 2004...

WWPSA-ZZF Meet to Discuss Cooperative Efforts
In their first meeting since forming an international partnership, the World Wide Pet Supply Association (Arcadia, Calif.) and Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe e.V. (Langen, Germany) agreed to cross-promote their trade shows and to make it easier for members to attend each other’s events...

GLEE Buyer Registration Rising
An international trade show for the garden, leisure and pet industries, GLEE expects to draw a total of 28,000 buyers—and to double international buyer attendance to 5,000—when it takes place Sept. 18-20 at the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham, England...