Pet shops can be open for business but the priority should always be to keep you, your staff and your customers safe within the Government advice on social distancing.

Aquaculture Production Businesses

Fish Health Inspectorate has said this about APBs

Aquaculture production businesses (APB’s) in England and Wales will not receive their customary disease surveillance and compliance inspection visits by the Fish Health Inspectorate. However, Inspectors will be contacting APB’s, endeavouring to remotely check records, complete aspects of compliance where feasible and ascertain the status of stocks onsite. We are grateful for your co-operation in this matter. We will continue to review our field programme week by week considering the current and changing situation with Coronavirus.

The Fish Health Inspectorate has essential statutory field duties that will continue to be delivered while government measures for the control of Coronavirus allow. Specifically, this is emergency response to serious disease outbreaks and disease control, support to the export trade, and business critical authorisation inspections. We have implemented additional sanitary measures to protect the health of stakeholders and Cefas staff while delivering this work following government advice regarding personal measures to mitigate the risk of COVID-19. Office based staff are working from home, however, our office services remain open and delivering business as usual for administration and queries relating to authorisation, registration, trade.

More here.

Heathrow

We have been informed that APHA has implemented its contingency measures, which means their vets will be rotating staff so their office will not be fully staffed. Delays should therefore be expected although they have assured us that animal welfare continues to be their highest priority. They still need sight of the original certificates but have requested that they should also be emailed electronically to lhr@apha.gov.uk

CITES – importing endangered species

You now need to send any applications by email to wildlife.licensing@apha.gov.uk as staff may not be able to collect post during the coronavirus outbreak. More information here.

IATA

Here’s the letter we wrote to the airlines trade association asking them to ensure airlines continue to accept live animals in transport.

Couriers in the UK

We have been hearing the courier services within the UK that normally carry fish may no longer be doing so. Therefore if you are continuing to offer fish for sale with delivery by this route check to make sure you can deliver before accepting an order.