Sent To The Chairman of Pets At Home UPDATE: Pets At Home Response

 Dear Sir.

I run the UK National Carnivore Advisory as well as running the UK Fox Study (1976). I am a naturalist and contributed to a number of papers and several books including The Red Paper.

I normally recommended Pets At Home for supplies when it comes to wild birds, peanuts and wet foods for badgers,. hedgehogs, etc. I have today learnt that Pets At Home has contributed funds to the Duke of Buccleuch's Hunt. At a time when wildlife rescues and projects such as the Fox Study find it impossible to raise funding research it is shocking to discover that a company that I and many others have supported are freely giving funds to a group dedicated to cruel and very outdated 'sport'.

Via my social media and blog/Face Book and other social media I have shared this information and would ask that you please seriously reconsider funding or contributing to a fox hunt group as the feedback so far has been that previous loyal customers are now switching to other pet supply businesses.

Yours Sincerely

Terry Hooper-Scharf

Director UK Fox Study/UK Carnivore Advisory

This was the response which seems clear and I have no doubt that Pets At Home will be more careful when future requests arrive:

Dear Terry,

Thank you for sending an email to our CEO to raise your concerns. He does have full access to this inbox, however he has asked for me to get in touch with you to ensure you're not left waiting for a response.

Pets at Home has not provided any official sponsorship for this or other similar events and stand firmly against the practice of hunting. Since this matter was brought to our attention we have investigated the claims and found that colleagues were approached locally for small prizes for a local dog show. These items did not represent official sponsorship or affiliation with any such event. We are reminding our colleagues of the processes for supporting local events and will make necessary changes where appropriate.

I hope I have managed to ease some of your concerns, however please don't hesitate to get in touch should you have any further queries.

Kind regards,

Colin
Colin Rigby
Customer Service Team Leader for Pets at Home