The Scottish Government has this week tightened up its rules around non-essential shopping and working in people’s homes. While pet shops remain essential we would urge retailers to revisit all the Covid-19 precautions within your store to make sure they are operating correctly. This is a useful checklist created for retailers by the Scottish Government.

Tradespeople visiting Scottish homes – which would include for example aquarium consultants – must limit this work to essential services only.

See the updated Scottish guidance here.

Across the UK the Governments and devolved administrations are highlighting the importance of the stay-at-home message and the need to limit social contact. Pet shops remain essential retailers across the UK so can stay open. While this doesn’t stop shops selling livestock, we would suggest you look again at providing local delivery, click and collect services, virtual appointments and shop tours to limit the time people spend in your shop and therefore out and about in your local community to help stop the spread of the virus.