The British Pet Expo 2012

[N5 NRO]

Though some people here might be interested to hear about this event, which is being held next year near Exeter.

British Pet Expo (including the British Reptile Expo and the British Pet Traders' Expo)
30th June - 1st July 2012
Westpoint Arena
Exeter
EX5 1DJ

This event will feature something for everyone with a reptile expo, a dog show, a trade expo and a whole host of other activities, competitions and attractions.

The website has just gone live yesterday at http://www.britishpetexpo.com
It's still got a bit of work left to do on it and we are eager to get any photos or videos (we will have a YouTube channel soon) to help make the site a bit more attractive. Any comments (positive or negative) will be much appreciated.

I know it's a long way off yet, but I am keen to start getting exhibitors booked in early as it's going to be a huge event.

Would be great to have some feedback on the website (I know how much people here love correcting mistakes!)

I hope some people from here would be able to make it there, would be great to have some car enthusiasts in attendance.

[Mrs Grumpy]

I can only comment from my viewpoint, which is an animal welfare and rescue stance.

If I was trying to decide whether to attend this or not - I would want to know what was meant by 'pet traders'. To me, this means people who deal in live animals. I would never attend anything like this. Also 'teaching people a few things about animals at the same time' - what does this mean? Will you have trainers/behaviourists there? Who are they and what methods do they use? Again, unless they were using up to date methods such as those promoted by the APDT and APBC I would not attend.

Will any charities be there? Are there free/reduced places for charities?

Dog show - what classes will there be?

This may not be the comments you are looking for, but these things are very important to people like me

[N5 NRO]

Mrs Grumpy said:

I can only comment from my viewpoint, which is an animal welfare and rescue stance.

If I was trying to decide whether to attend this or not - I would want to know what was meant by 'pet traders'. To me, this means people who deal in live animals. I would never attend anything like this. Also 'teaching people a few things about animals at the same time' - what does this mean? Will you have trainers/behaviourists there? Who are they and what methods do they use? Again, unless they were using up to date methods such as those promoted by the APDT and APBC I would not attend.

Will any charities be there? Are there free/reduced places for charities?

Dog show - what classes will there be?

This may not be the comments you are looking for, but these things are very important to people like me

Thanks for your post - and don't worry, they are all comments I am more than happy to hear

As for the "pet traders", what is actually meant (perhaps not made clear enough on the website) is people involved with the pet trade, however where the event is concerned no traders will be able to sell any animals. Exhibit them yes, provided the are well kept while on display. It is illegal for traders to sell live animals at such events and we take an extremely strict stance against these practices.

With regards to teaching people about animals - there are no complete arrangements in place yet as to what presentations will be given, however we will have a variety of talks and demontrations - some revolving around dogs and more "domestic" animals, while others will focus on some slightly more exotic animals. The talks and presentations will only be given by specialists in their field and it will be ensured all information is up-to-date. I am very keen for this event to be an ongoing annual one and I won't tolerate any cutting corners or misinformation.

As for the charities - there will be some in attendance (full arrangements are yet to be made, it's still early days and this is the first weekend of building promotion) and they will certainly not be charged the full rate. I want this to be an event to appeal to individuals, small traders, large traders and charities (as well as the public). At present it is my intention to have representatives from some pet charities to give talks on responsible pet ownership, as they will be in the best position to advise on such matters.

The dog show will be a more "informal" event that many others, with the main aim to get people with non-pedigree dogs involved and have a bit of fun, rather than dividing up into classes. My belief is that there are plenty of events around for people interested in showing off pedigree dogs, but not so much for your everyday mongrel.

Thanks again for your comments - I am always happy to hear people's concerns, I don't want to put anyone off by what we are doing.

[Mrs Grumpy]

Fab! If you need any suggestions for charities/experts in the dog/cat area (and maybe some small furries) please give me a yell

Another thing that occurred to me is info about the venue itself. Indoors? Outdoors? Parking? Facilities?

[N5 NRO]

Mrs Grumpy said:

Fab! If you need any suggestions for charities/experts in the dog/cat area (and maybe some small furries) please give me a yell

Another thing that occurred to me is info about the venue itself. Indoors? Outdoors? Parking? Facilities?

Fantastic - thanks for the offer, I will be in contact with you within the next week or so if that's ok?

I completely forgot about including information about the venue itself - I will do some updates to the website in a bit and include a link to the venue's website. Westpoint Arena is the largest indoor exhibition space in the South West (this area will contain most of the exhibition stands), and also features 150 acres of outside space, which we will also be making good use of for the events. Parking is available on site with space for over 3,500 cars. All facilities you could need are provided on site, we will even have a restaurant open as well as the usual burger vans etc!

Many thanks again for the suggestions, it's much appreciated

[Mrs Grumpy]

N5 NRO said:

Fantastic - thanks for the offer, I will be in contact with you within the next week or so if that's ok?

Absolutely !