Week-long 'festival of events' to be held online.
Burgess Pet Care has partnered with multiple animal charities to launched the first ever Guinea Pig Awareness Week to highlight the welfare needs of these pets.
Guinea Pig Awareness Week (GPAW) will take place online from 22-28 March this year. It has been created by Burgess Pet Care along with the RSPCA, Woodgreen The Animals Charity, Blue Cross and PDSA – the same partnership behind Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW), which has been running for 15 years this year.
A series of surveys of guinea pig owners and veterinary professionals conducted by Burgess Pet Care found that 94 per cent of veterinary professionals feel that the most common mistake owners of small animals make is feeding them the wrong diet.GPAW organisers will seek to address this issue in the campaign’s programme, and encourages veterinary professionals to share their knowledge and experiences online in order to help educate and inform guinea pig owners on a large scale.
Dr Suzanne Moyes MVB MRCVS, operations and technical director at Burgess Pet Care, said: “Guinea pigs are always a popular choice of pet, particularly for families, but the survey results show a clear lack of understanding around their particular welfare needs.
“GPAW is a fantastic opportunity for vets to get involved, raise the profile of their practices, showcase their guinea pig expertise and to actively engage with their clients, communities and fellow practitioners online.”
More information on GPAW and a new website will be launched soon. Meanwhile, the GPAW team is urging veterinary professionals, retailers and charities to support the campaign by liking and sharing the GPAW official Facebook page.
Image (c) Burgess Pet Care.
Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
