Guinea Pig Awareness Week 2024 is underway, with a Wild West habitat dedicated to the UK’s popular furry pets providing the perfect staging post to launch.
Hog Springs is a new environment where rescued guineas have been given a delightful space for daily adventures at Northumberland Zoo.
And with the summer holidays becoming a distant memory, nights drawing in and attention turning back to indoor activities, there’s a concerted effort to ensure the loveable small animals remain well looked after and part of daily family life.
Now in its fourth year, Guinea Pig Awareness Week – running from Monday, September 23 – serves to reinforce the five welfare needs, under this year’s theme of ‘nibble, nourish, thrive’. Orchestrated by pet food supplier and manufacturer, Burgess Pet Care, keeping guinea pigs healthy and happy is at the heart of the campaign.
To mark the start, the latest feed donation was made by the Yorkshire family business to Hog Springs, ensuring the inhabitants’ diet matches the first-class environment. Six months’ supply of the company’s Excel Guinea Nuggets have been sent up the A1 by the Burgess team, while staff are embarking on a fundraiser to provide new flooring for the expanding enclosure.
Hog Springs opened last year at the zoo, itself established to create a North East hub for wildlife conservation. The addition was the result of an in-house competition between staff, working with local charity Gertie’s Lonely Guinea Pig Rescue to provide the facilities.
Lucy Edwards, curator, said: “We’re delighted to host the launch of such an important week in the small animal calendar. For Hog Springs to be recognised like this is fantastic, and testament to the team we have here for creating it.
“Our frontier town provides the perfect environment for guineas, with several buildings providing the hides they crave and tunnels aplenty to explore in the wider enclosure.”
The Wild West theme is a nod to time spent out in Kansas by the Bradley family prior to setting up in Northumberland.
Guinea Pig Awareness Week is supported by some of the UK’s leading animal welfare charities – Blue Cross, Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare, the RSPCA and Woodgreen Pets Charity. It is also endorsed by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association.
Dr Suzanne Moyes MVB, MRCVS, deputy managing director and in-house vet at Burgess Pet Care, said: “Hog Springs is a fabulous set up where guinea pigs’ welfare is of paramount importance and they are thriving, having been given a second chance.
“Guinea Pig Awareness Week really matters because despite their popularity, guinea pigs are among the most misunderstood pets in the UK. A lack of knowledge means that their welfare – including their diet – is often overlooked; for instance, without essential fibre, guinea pigs’ teeth can become overgrown, so it’s important they can munch on feeding hay to help keep their ever-growing teeth in good shape.”
