Weekly companion animal news: December 6, 2021

Elanco announces new consolidation plans, including 380 layoffs

Elanco Animal Health announced new consolidation plans, including 380 layoffs, as part of its effort to improve efficiency following the acquisition last year of Bayer’s animal health unit. The layoffs will include about 20% of Elanco’s senior management. Executive committee members exiting the company at the end of this year include executive vice president and chief marketing officer Racquel Harris Mason, executive vice president and Elanco Europe President Dirk Ehle, and executive vice president and president of U.S. pet health and commercial operations Joyce Lee. Elanco expects to name a new leader for an expanded U.S. pet health role in the future. Layoffs are expected to save the company about $60 million next year, with annual savings of about $70 million once fully implemented.

Pet spending set to rise this holiday season

Even with supply chain issues and inflation, pet owners seem ready to pay up for their pet this holiday season, Bloomberg reports. About 51% of U.S. pet owners surveyed by the American Pet Products Association said they bought a holiday gift for their animal in 2020, up from 47% in 2019. About 56% plan to do so this year. Specialty retailers from Pets at Home to Chewy have expanded their inventory and holiday product selection, and general retailers including Walmart, Target and Nordstrom are also trying to attract pet owners. APPA expects pet spending this year to reach at least about $110 billion, after pet owners spent more than $100 billion last year. This comes after pet adoption increased last year with the onset of the pandemic, and it also reflects the rising trend of pet humanization.

Eco-friendly pet food grows in popularity in the United Kingdom

Eco-friendly pet food appears to be on the rise in the United Kingdom, data shows. The number of pet food products containing Marine Stewardship Council-certified sustainable seafood has grown 57% in the United Kingdom in the last five years, from 49 to 77, The Guardian reports. Fish generally has a lower carbon footprint than meat, previous research has shown, although some fish products are the result of overfishing. Given these factors, “buying sustainable seafood products is one of the most positive choices that pet owners can make” to help reduce overfishing, said George Clark, the Marine Stewardship Council’s program director for the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Cornell receives $30 million toward new Canine Health Center

A $30 million gift to Cornell University is helping accelerate the launch of a new Canine Health Center. The funding will initially endow an internal grants program for canine health-related research, with emphasis on studying cancer, genetics and genomics, infectious diseases, and immunology. “We were inspired by the college’s plans for a new Canine Health Center,” said Margaret Riney, who provided the gift along with Richard Riney. “The ability to bring diverse expertise in canine-related research—from across the college and across the university—under one umbrella is a great way to catalyze the research process.”

Once-daily feeding could prevent certain age-related disease in dogs, study finds

Dogs that are fed once a day are less likely to develop certain age-related conditions, according to a new study. Researchers at the University of Arizona found that dogs given one meal a day appeared to exhibit fewer signs of developing disorders such as liver, pancreas and urinary issues. “For nearly a century, caloric restriction has been known to extend lifespan and delay age-associated pathology in laboratory animals,” researchers wrote. “Once-daily feeding in dogs serves as a natural model for the intermittent fasting/time-restricted feeding protocols currently being studied both in preclinical rodent models and in human trials,” they said. They noted it’s too early to suggest owners change their pets’ feeding regimes. Country Living reports.

Shelter sees rise in foster applications after assigning astrological signs to dogs

A Los Angeles animal shelter is assigning astrological signs to its dogs in an effort to match them with a compatible human, Reuters reports. Wags and Walks adoption center has partnered with the website-building company SquareSpace to create a website that shows dogs and their star signs to help get better foster matches. The signs are assigned based on the dogs’ personality and their likes and dislikes, rather than their birthdays. Since the website launched in mid-October, foster applications submitted to the shelter have increased 20%.

Affordable care franchise expands to Arizona

PetWellClinic, a walk-in affordable care franchise, has entered a 16-unit agreement in Phoenix, the company’s first deal in Arizona. Franchisee Cole Walling will oversee day-to-day operations as president of PetWellClinic Phoenix. He will work alongside PetWellClinic Phoenix CEO Jeff Walling and director of marketing Lisa Walling. Clinic locations haven’t been selected, but the first clinics are planned to be staffed and fully operational by April 2022.

Sri Trang USA announces new acute care sales director of health systems

Medical glove maker Sri Trang USA has hired Erica Halligan as acute care sales director of health systems. “Erica will be responsible for working with our IDN/GPO customers to extend the value of our infection prevention products to customers across the acute care segment, with current hospital customers while expanding and developing new customers as well,” said Sri Trang USA CEO Billy Harris.