(Press Release) The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council is hosting three important events at Global Pet Expo that are open to attendees and the press.
- PIJAC Annual Meeting – Tuesday, March 21 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time – Room W208B
- Small Animals Care Standard Discussion – Wednesday, March 22 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time – Room W203A
- Conversation with APHIS Deputy Administrator of Animal Care Bernadette Juarez – Thursday, March 23, from 10 to 11 a.m. Eastern Time – Room W203A
About each event:
The PIJAC Annual Meeting takes place at Global every year. It is the meeting at which we announce the results of our annual Board elections and is the first of our quarterly meetings. The Board will elect the officer team for the coming year, hear from PIJAC staff on a wide range of activities that have been carried out over the past year, and discuss plans for the coming year. PIJAC staff will also discuss the results of the pet industry’s economic impact study, a new opinion survey of industry leaders, an expanded communications strategy, and more.
The Small Animal Care Standards Discussion will present the standards that have been drafted by our working group since SuperZoo. The broader industry is encouraged to attend to provide feedback and ask questions as part of the responsible pet trade’s effort to continue holding ourselves to the highest criteria of ethical care for animals and consumers.
Conversation with APHIS Deputy Administrator of Animal Care Bernadette Juarez – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and their Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) oversees many of the breeders and distributors who provide responsibly raised pets nationwide. To facilitate greater understanding between the USDA and the responsible pet industry, PIJAC will moderate a wide-ranging discussion with Deputy Administrator Juarez. The discussion will include a question-and- answer period and include the USDA’s recent decision to remove inspection reports and other documents from their website.