14 September 2000



Fuel Crisis - More Views From The Sectors

Following on from our previous article on the effects of the fuel shortages on the UK Pet Industry, your views have continued to pour into the office.

We received mixed responses from companies reliant on mail order/delivery services, in such competitive markets we hope readers will appreciate the openness of their remarks.

George Burns of Burns Pet Nutrition, a well established player in the nutritional high quality dog and cat food market and a group with companies in England, Scotland, Ireland and the U.S said:

"My business in the UK is beginning to suffer..Parcel Force suspended all deliveries today , so no mail order available from Scotland Office or Newcastle Office.. We have enough fuel for deliveries over the next week but stocks could begin to run low by then".

Fiona Wilson of Osmonds / Petcetera etc. in East Yorkshire, said that the current fuel shortages had affected their business in several ways, she said:

"..our mail order business has been affected, as we cannot guarantee that any parcels will reach their destination by a specified time".

"Although the majority of orders are not life threatening, we do sell a lot of products for newly born animals, such as "colostrum" products - especially in Osmonds, the agricultural side of the business. These orders tend to be last minute "emergency" orders, and as such it is imperative that these orders arrive at their destination within the shortest possible time".

She went on:

"However, despite these circumstances and we appreciate that everyone is in the same boat, we are still sending out orders, and at present they are still being delivered".

Conversely Edward O'Hara of Oakenshaw & Allbrooks, (Wakefield), manufacturers of cat grooming and dog accessories, said:

"Other than our mail order service being a little slow and suspending our guaranteed next day delivery we haven't yet been adversely affected at all".

Bala Products of Telford who produce soft furnishings, animal clothing and accessories said they have enough fuel for another week and reminded readers that Weston Park Country Fair which is taking place on Saturday and Sunday this weekend (just off the M54 at junction 3), is the last of the major country events this year.

Despite the problems we had a large number of responses in support of the protests. Typical of the views expressed was this from Pete Martin of Online Retailer Petz:

"Our only problem has been no collection for 3 days - but if fuel prices fall it has been worth it".

As far as boarding and holidays go we have a mixed bag of experiences.

Max Levell of Airpets Oceanic the quarantine kennels and animal air transport company at Heathrow said:

"Well, here at Airpets Oceanic we have escaped fairly lightly (So far!). The main problem has been helping kennel staff to obtain fuel for their own cars so that they can show up for work each day. Since fuel has been pretty much unavailable here for several days now, we have been forced to lend staff company vans (Diesel) to return home in".

"We have our own fairly large diesel supply here at the kennels so the transport side of the business - Picking up and delivering pets all over the UK, has been unaffected. Luckily, we had a days notice from the media which allowed us to fill all the company vehicles from the local garage - Extending our reserves for that little bit longer".

"The only other problem is that we have run out of unleaded to put in the lawn mower ! Fingers crossed this will be the most serious problem to affect us.... Only time will tell".

Val of Paws (Pet Visiting Service) wrote to say:

"My petsitting service is quite small and mainly only serves my local area. I am using my bike for the nearest jobs and planning my route for driving carefully. Next week, all my jobs are within cycling distance (2 - 3 miles) so it shouldn't present me with a problem. One of my clients may cancel if they cannot get fuel by Sunday as they were going on a driving holiday".

Other pet sitters and visitors are having similar problems.

One combined boarding/visiting business mailed us to say:

"Our main concern will be for the people that are picking dogs up this weekend, usually travelling from airports and some from Scotland/Cornwall. This will have a knock on effect on the new boarders coming in".

"Some of our current boarders are also on specialised diets with enough food to last for their stay so should they be late being picked up then obviously we need to provide the correct diet - again with no fuel we won't always be able to get to the pet shops to get it".

"The other area of concern is for our dog-walkers. We have enough fuel to last us until the weekend but hopefully will be able to fill up by then and carry on as normal next week".

Pet Visitors, who often work on their own with little in the way of support are juggling priorities and turning away custom.

Sue Mouat of Pet Chums said:

"I have had to ensure that the pets that are 'home alone' are my absolute priority, which has meant cancelling daily dog walking jobs".

The crisis has hit Visitors Cats, Dogs & Peace of Mind, very hard, its founder, Louise Wilsher, said:

"It would have been difficult for the crisis to have come at a worse time. We have seen a significant increase in business throughout August, through September and into October. This is therefore the busiest time for the business since it launched in November last year, but we are having to work extra hard to ensure we can deliver the service to those who have already booked us and are away on holiday".

Pet Friendly hotels are suffering too - we had this from John Parry at The White Lodge Hotel Mawgan Porth, Newquay:

"Yes the fuel crisis has already affected our business. We have received several cancellation from guests who do not have enough petrol to make the journey here".

"I have offered to collect guests from the railway station in Newquay if they decide to come down by train. There's not much else I can do. I will run out of petrol myself shortly. I am cutting the number of trips I make into Newquay which is about six miles away from the Hotel, but I have to go to the cash and carry in Newquay for essential food supplies. Yesterday I went to the cash and carry, three supermarkets and a convenience store but none of them had any bread. I did manage to get a few dozen bread rolls. Our Hotel accomodates roughly 40 guests and we are normally quite busy until the end of October".

"I just hope that the dispute is resolved quickly. I will lose revenue and I may have to lay the staff off. I employ 10 local people".

We had responses from a number of stonemasons who make pet memorials. In view of their close connections with the haulage industry their views were as expected, in favour of the protests.

Fergus Conner of Stoneworks saw this as an opportunity..

"Some of my suppliers have appreciated the chance to catch up and build up a stock of deliveries. They hope to keep this up and having had a chance to consolidate promise to be more efficient in the future".

..and a long term threat to business:

"Neighbours of mine have combined the school run with dog walking which I suppose could be detrimental to my business because if they are getting fitter they are less likely to need a memorial!"

Finally we had some powerful opinions from Tina Douglass of Cwmtywyll Cob and Pony Agency, about the effects of high fuel prices in the rural community. The full text of her letter is included here.



Copyright 2000 Steve O'Malley (UKPets).
This article may be reproduced with permission of the author and correct attribution to the source.