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1.6
MILLION PET OWNERS HAVE PUT THEIR PETS TO SLEEP BECAUSE THEY CAN’T
AFFORD VET AND MEDICAL BILLS
EVERY year,
thousands of pet dogs and cats are being put down because their
owners cannot afford the veterinary fees or ongoing medical costs of
looking after their animals. New research from Sainsbury’s Finance
reveals that 1.6 million people have had to put down at least one
pet dog or cat over the past 5 years because of this. In total, the
research shows that 927,000 dogs and 822,000 cats were put down for
this reason between 2003 and 2008.
These findings are supported by further Sainsbury’s Finance research
amongst vets that reveals 51% have had to put a cat or a dog to
sleep in the past 5 years because the owner couldn’t afford their
pet’s medical treatment. In addition to this, again because of
cost, the research found that there are also many pets with medical
conditions who are not receiving the recommended treatment because
their owners cannot afford it. Over the past 5 years, 2.5 million
people admitted that they have declined recommended treatment for
their pet cat or dog because they simply couldn’t afford the cost. An overwhelming majority (80%) of vets confirmed that they had
encountered this problem over the past 5 years.
Sainsbury’s Finance believes that there are 2 key reasons for this
tragic problem. The 1st is that veterinary advances mean that the
cost of vet fees is rising by around 12% per year. The 2nd is that
around 55% of cats and dogs are not insured, so owners cannot rely
on an insurance policy to cover all or part of a vet’s bill and
without this they may find it impossible to pay. Sainsbury’s Pet
Insurance policy will pay up to £7,500 towards a vet’s bill.
Worryingly, Sainsbury’s Finance believes the situation of pets being
put down or not receiving the recommended treatment for their
medical conditions could be getting worse. Indeed, its research
reveals that 10% of vets claim that the number of uninsured dogs and
cats they are asked to put to sleep because the owners couldn’t
afford the treatment has increased when compared to 5 years ago, but
only 5% think it has decreased. Similarly, 14% of vets stated that
the number of owners with uninsured dogs and cats who have declined
a course of treatment or operation because of cost has increased
while only 6% believe it has fallen.
Neal Devine, Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance Manager, said:- “Our
findings are very disturbing but also frustrating because in many
cases if the owners had taken out good quality pet insurance they
would have been able to treat their pet without any problems.
The current credit crunch could compound this situation even
further, with as many as one million pet owners looking to reduce
their pet insurance cover or do away with it all together. This is a
false economy because when finances become tighter, it is even more
important to have pet insurance so that you can pay any unexpected
vet bills.”
Regionally, the East of England has the highest percentage of past
and present pet owners (12.1%) who have had to put down a pet in the
past 5 years because they couldn’t afford the treatment. This is
closely followed by the West Midlands (11.3%) and the South East
(8.8%).
Steve Dixon, a leading veterinary surgeon, said:- “Vets are in
business to treat and save the lives of animals, not to put them to
sleep because of cost.
It can be heartbreaking for the vet and pet
owner when this happens, so we always advise owners to take out
insurance to help avoid this situation.” |
Peter James, Val McDermid and Margaret Murphy Reveal The Forensic
Science Behind Their Novels
CRIME fiction
will come face to face with science fact on 9 September 2008, as some of
the UK’s top crime authors and a group of real-life CSIs put
fictional forensics under the microscope.
World renowned scientific institute The Macaulay Institute will
delve into the science behind fictional crime, when it presents the
‘Murder, Mystery and Microscopes’ event on Tuesday as part of the
annual BA Festival of Science at the University of Liverpool.
The event will involve readings from their novels by three of the
biggest names in crime fiction - Val McDermid, Peter James and
Margaret Murphy - whilst four of the country’s top forensic experts
will be on hand to reveal all about the science behind these
stories. The audience of more than 500 will also see the 1st
demonstration of how computerised maps are being combined with
detailed information on soil and vegetation types to help the police
narrow down areas of search, or even to check alibis – a system that
has been developed by Macaulay Institute scientists and their
collaborators, supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council.
Dr Lorna Dawson, Head of Soil Forensics at the Institute said:-
“The ‘Murder, Mystery and Microscopes’ event aims to inform and
entertain people about the science behind fictional crime, by
bringing together crime authors and forensic experts. We hope to
provoke some captivating conversations, intrigue, amuse and
enlighten everyone who attends.”
Each author will read out short excerpts from their own crime
novels, followed by an explanation of the science behind the fiction
by one of the experts. Amongst the many science areas covered will
be cyber-crime, arson, post-mortems, geoforensics, anthropology and
DNA analysis.
Author Margaret Murphy said:- “This is a unique opportunity to
hear what the scientists think of the way in which science is
presented in fiction. True-crime buffs, crime fiction readers,
aspiring writers – in fact anyone who has even a passing interest in
crime - will be fascinated by the insights provided by the experts.”
The event, hosted by the BBC’s Quentin Cooper, will close with a
book signing by the authors, and an opportunity for the audience to
question both authors and scientists.
Report of a Light Aircraft Crashing on Moss
ON Sunday, 7
September 2008, reports came in to the emergency services, at round
8:45pm, that a local resident had reported the seeing explosions and
a ball of fire in the sky over the Moss, just outside Churchtown. A
search was then instigated in the area, by Merseyside Fire & Rescue,
Lancashire Fire & Rescue and Lancashire Police and Merseyside
Police. The search was called off at around 9:45pm, as it was too
dark to see and Lancashire Police had had no reports from Air
Traffic Control. The search of the area resumed at 8am on Monday, 8
September 2008, but was soon called off again. Lancashire Police
Press Office told us that:- "We had reports of an incident and
a search was conducted. No wreckage or any signs of an accident has
been found. Also, no reports from Air Traffic Control or any log off
missing persons have been filed. The log has now been closed and the
search has been called off. At this point we have no more
information." |
