Is the pressure to be a ‘responsible’ pet owner increasing?
Britain has long been thought of as a nation of pet lovers. Nearly half of UK households have at least one pet, but the last 40 years have seen many changes in attitudes to animals and their ownership...
How important is children's relationship with their pets?
January, 2017 - Children get more satisfaction from relationships with their pets than with their brothers or sisters, according to a newly published University of Cambridge study. Children also appea...
Improving fish welfare
Transporting your new pet fish can often be a stressful, and very slow, car ride home. Trying desperately to keep the water still as your new companion bobs around helplessly. What you may not realise...
Pets prove to be a child's best friend
The study of 1,000 children aged between nine and 10 years old, conducted by Mars Petcare in conjunction with the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition and The University of Liverpool, UK, with partners Li...
Waltham-funded study to examine the impact of pet ownership on healthy human aging
Professor Erika Friedmann, Associate Dean of Research at the University of Maryland, together with her colleague, Barbara Resnick Professor in Gerontology and Drs Eleanor Simonsick and Stephanie Stude...
Researchers call for more studies looking at role of pets in healthy aging
Across the developed world, populations are ageing. On one level this is great news: we are all living longer. But the downside is a growing raft of health and social problems that can make the later ...
New funding to advance research into health impact of therapy dogs
Researchers at major academic institutions in the United States have been awarded funding through the National Institutes of Health/Mars–WALTHAM™ Public-Private Partnership. These new studies will exa...
Differently sourced colourants may affect ornamental fish activity
Carotenoids are nature’s vivid colourants. They give characteristic visual tinges to carrots, corn and canaries, as well as many other brightly hued plants and animals. At this time of year, their eff...