Small Animals

Rabbit Awareness Week marks 20 years of improving rabbit welfare

Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW), the UK’s leading campaign dedicated to rabbit welfare, is celebrating a major milestone this year as it marks its 20th anniversary.

Returning from Monday 22nd June to Friday 26th June with the 2026 theme ‘Feeding Bunnies Better’, the campaign will shine a spotlight on how far rabbit care has come over the past two decades - while setting a new standard for the...

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Burgess Excel launches The Great British Small Animal Census for 2026

Burgess Excel , the UK’s leading small animal specialist, has launched The Great British Small Animal Census for 2026, the largest dedicated survey into the lives, behaviours and wellbeing of the nation’s small animals.

Now open for entries, the census aims to strengthen understanding of small animal ownership. The outcomes will develop industry education and promote best practice,...

Britain's most neglected pet? Vet charity warns against this “easy” pet due to welfare concerns

Many people consider rabbits to be an easy, starter pet, thinking they are great for new owners or for children who want to take care of something, but vet charity, PDSA are warning people to avoid taking on rabbits if they are looking for a ‘low maintenance’ companion.

PDSA Vet Nurse Shauna Walsh says: “There’s no denying how adorable rabbits are, and whilst they may appear to be...

Expert advises on how to build a "hedgehog house" - as trades rally to help the hedgehogs

Hedgehog houses have attracted a lot of attention over the last few years - and not always for the right reasons. In fact, several large retailers were criticised for selling ready-built plastic homes that were not fit for purpose. One wildlife expert went so far as to call them hedgehog death traps.

However, with hedgehog numbers in steep decline, with experts estimating the...

A quarter of Brits have never seen a hedgehog in the wild - as trades unite to Help the Hedeghogs

Industry experts estimate that hedgehog numbers have been decimated in the last 20 years, and, sadly, new research indicates that millions of Brits have never had the privilege of seeing a hedgehog in the wild. To help raise awareness of the issue, the week commencing May 4th has been designated as "Hedgehog Awareness Week", with the aim of educating Brits on how serious the issue is, and how...

10 surprising facts about guinea pigs

There's a lot more to guinea pigs than meets the eye, from having an odd toe count, to lacking vitamin C, there's plenty of surprising facts about these small creatures!

PDSA's vet team are sharing ten facts about guinea pigs you might not know:

1. Despite their name, they don't come from Guinea

Domestic guinea pigs don't originate from Guinea in West...

Ya'll ready? It's the return of Guinea Pig Awareness Week!

With one week to go, the organisers behind Guinea Pig Awareness Week , or GPAW, the UK's largest campaign dedicated to improving guinea pigs' welfare, is back for its fourth fantastic year, with an amazing launch of piggy-powered activities at Hog Springs – a Wild West-themed guinea pig village located within Northumberland Zoo.

Led by small pet experts Burgess Pet Care and supported...

Burgess Pet Care named as a headline sponsor of National Rabbit Festival

Burgess Pet Care , one of the UK's leading independent pet food manufacturers, is delighted to announce that it is a headline sponsor of this year's National Rabbit Festival, the UK's first and only ethical rescue-based event to educate, advocate and celebrate rabbits as a species and companion animal.

Following the overwhelming success of 2023's inaugural sell-out event, this year's...

PDSA Weekly column: Summer risk of deadly flystrike in rabbits

PDSA experts are warning rabbit owners to check their bunnies' bums during warm weather, to prevent a deadly disease known as flystrike. The condition, which is caused by flies that can lay eggs on rabbits' fur, can quickly kill them if not treated.

PDSA Vet Nurse Nina Downing explains: "The flies are more common in summer months, once the eggs hatch into maggots these burrow under...

‘Happy’ is the word most used by rabbit owners to describe their pet, but are they?

Next week sees the launch of Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW), the UK's largest campaign dedicated to rabbits' welfare, which promises to be the biggest one to date! During a recent UK-wide census, organised by Burgess Pet Care, 'happy' was the word most used by rabbit owners to describe their bunny's personality. But this RAW we are asking, how happy is your bunny?

Following a massively...

Rabbit Awareness Week returns with focus on Healthy Diet, Happy Bunnies!

Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW) – the UK's largest campaign of its kind - is back for 2024 to help rabbit owners understand more about the best ways to care for these intelligent, inquisitive animals.

Now in its 18th year, this year's RAW runs from 24-28 June, with the theme Healthy Diet, Happy Bunnies .

Dr Suzanne Moyes MVB, MRCVS, deputy managing director and in-house vet at...

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