Carmarthenshire-based pet food company Burns Pet Nutrition has formed a new partnership with one of Britain’s most high-profile animal welfare charities, Mayhew.
The family-run firm, which already runs a Charity of the Year scheme to support animal charities and regularly donates its specialist line of natural pet food to more than 40 rescue centres across the UK, will support the London-based charity by supplying pet food for animals at the centre for the whole of 2020.
Mayhew, which works to improve the lives of dogs, cats and people, both in London and internationally by providing ongoing support to pet owners and animals in difficulty, will also receive rehoming packs from Burns Pet Nutrition to supply to all adopters.
VETERINARY CARE
The charity, whose patron is The Duchess of Sussex, was founded in 1886 and works closely with communities to provide support for both people and animals, providing preventative veterinary care and other support. The team of around 380 staff and volunteer students rehomed more than 400 cats and dogs and handled 1,100 welfare cases during 2019.
The manufacturer chose Mayhew as a partner because of its ‘holistic community ethos’, something that Burns founder John Burns also strives to achieve throughout his pet food business, which has its own charity, The Burns Pet Nutrition Foundation. The charity is supported by the main business to feed rescue dogs and cats, support young peoples’ literacy in UK schools with its reading with dogs scheme and help rehabilitate people facing social isolation and injury through recreation such as crafts, woodwork and horticulture.
John Burns, a vet, said: “Corporate social responsibility is more than a buzzword at Burns. We want to use our success to improve the lives of people and pets across the UK. Mayhew runs a number of incredible initiatives to create compassionate communities for people and pets and we’re very proud to support the amazing work they do to help rescue animals, owners and vulnerable members of our society.”
ROUGH-SLEEPERS
Mayhew is also a lifeline for the homeless and rough-sleepers, with its animal welfare officers regularly visiting the homeless and their dogs to provide them with free health checks and microchipping. The team offers preventative vet care including neutering, vaccinations and de-fleaing to vulnerable people in society who are unable to support their pets’ needs financially.
Alongside its support of those experiencing homelessness, Mayhew developed a campaign in 2018 exploring life on the streets of London for a dog and its owner, in order to tackle a misconception that those who can’t support themselves financially but own a pet are irresponsible.
Zoe Edwards, head of animal welfare at Mayhew, said: “We’re very excited to be partnering with Burns Pet Nutrition as it’s a brand that not only provide high quality, natural pet food, but also share our views on the importance of community and is on the same mission to help both people and pets through its work.”
As part of the partnership, nutritionists from Burns’ team have visited the centre to share their expertise on the benefits of a good diet with the rest of the Mayhew staff.
