Jollyes, the UK’s fastest-growing pet retailer, has launched a ‘pet manifesto’ ahead of the General Election this July listing the top 10 actions a new government should take to support pets and their owners.
And it is teaming up with the National Foundation for Retired Service Animals (NFRSA) to ask candidates to support one of the key requests in that manifesto – a ‘pet pension’ pension to help support the care, well-being, and welfare of retired service animals from across the emergency service family – the police, fire, border force, NHS and prison services.
Jollyes opened a store at Kew Retail Park in Southport in July 2022.
They sponsored the annual Southport Mad Dog 10k race earlier this year, with several Jollyes colleagues from across the UK taking part in thew race.
Jollyes next store opening at Nuneaton’s Newton Retail Park on Friday 28th June 2024, the week before the election.
The next day (Saturday 29th June 2024) it will re-launch its revamped Newcastle store at West Denton Retail Park, after a significant refurbishment.
Jollyes is inviting all the candidates for both the Nuneaton and Newcastle constituencies to join the Jollyes team and NFRSA to hear about the manifesto and pledge to be supporters of pets and pet parents if elected to the next Parliament.
Jollyes’ pet manifesto attempts to answer the question ‘What would pets ask for from candidates if they could vote?’ and has been compiled from the top suggestions made by Jollyes colleagues and its customers.
Jollyes, the Pet People, is helping to make the North West’s iconic Southport Mad Dog 10k race the most paw-fect running event in the UK. Southport Jollyes Store Manager Johnny Wareing with the Southport Mad Dog mascot
The Jollyes manifesto includes:
- Action to protect the animals who protect us – animals play a crucial role in helping services such as the police and fire service, but when they retire, their owners face increased medical service, vet bills and don’t have easy access to insurance. Jollyes is partnering with NFRSA to ensure the special animals that protect and serve should be given financial support on retirement.
- This week (10 June) it became a legal requirement to microchip your cat in England. Jollyes customers and colleagues support an extension of compulsory cat microchipping to all UK nations, not just England.
- The introduction of zero rate VAT on kitten and puppy food to help lower the cost for pet parents of a new four-legged member of the family
- An end to any ‘no pet’ requirements for renters. Jollyes partners with BillyChip, a social enterprise scheme that supports rough sleepers across Britain and they know many of them have pets. But getting into rented accommodation can be tough if they don’t accept pets. That was due to be addressed in the Renters Reform Bill but was dropped ahead of the election.
- Extend the legal requirement for drivers to report road accidents involving pets from dogs to cats. Sadly, a cat does not currently fall within the remit of the Road Traffic Act and there’s no requirement to report the incident to the police – cats are part of the family too and this needs to change.
- Lower vet bills – currently there’s no legal requirement for vet practices to display their prices or who owns them. Greater transparency about vet pricing will reduce prices for pet owners.
- Ensure all firework retailers sell silent fireworks. Bonfire Night and New Year’s Eve can be traumatic for family pets – but not just them. They can cause PTSD for people who have been in war zones, they’re traumatic for some with autism and those who may have sensory issues.
- Ensure Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) are fair to dog owners and allow them to continue to exercise their pets freely. According to the Kennel Club, over 200 local authorities have implemented PSPOs affecting dog owners and we support their request that legislation is amended to provide a way for dog owners to challenge the appropriateness of PSPOs in their communities.
- A fairer deal on home insurance for pet owners – over 50pc of us own a pet but some insurers cover the accidental damage caused by pets on home insurance, but many don’t. It’s understandable that insurance companies find it hard to assess the risk created by pets, but they could do more to make sure accidental damage is covered by transparent policy add ons or different excess thresholds.
- It’s time to let dogs into all polling stations on election day – currently assistance dogs are the only animals that are guaranteed entrance into every polling station, but dogs encourage democratic participation as many combine voting and taking their dog for a walk.
In fact the hashtag #dogsatpollingstations is a thing every election day.
Over the next 12 months, all Jollyes 100-plus stores, including the Jollyes store in Southport, will be raising money for NFRSA with collections matched by Jollyes by to £20,000.
Jollyes Chief Executive Officer Joe Wykes said:
“Pets can’t vote, but they too rely on politicians to look after them.
“That’s why we’re asking candidates right across the country to think about how they support animals that bring joy and wellbeing to millions of families and also give special help to those that also work to protect us.”
Hundreds of runners enjoyed the Southport Mad Dog 10lk run sponsored by Jollyes – The Pet People. Jollyes CEO Joe Wykes (left) and Jollyes Southport Store Manager Jonny Wareing
Photo by Andrew Brown Arena PR
The founder of NFRSA, The Countess Bathurst said:
“Jollyes’ passion is for pets and their families and the NFRSA’s passion is for retired service animals across the country, so our amazing new partnership has the most extraordinary synergy and energy.
“Jollyes’ manifesto highlights all the opportunities that should be available to everyone who loves their four-legged friends.
“Our duty is to care for them at every level and I’m delighted and deeply grateful that Jollyes and the NFRSA are joining hands to make that happen.”
Jollyes has grown its store estate by 50 per cent in three years and has had an remarkable start to 2024 winning new investment to supercharge its growth, being named as the best retailer in Britain at the prestigious Retail Week awards for retailers under £250m turnover and making the Sunday Times’ list for the first time as one of Britain’s best big companies to work for.
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