Habitattitude Campaign Debuts
A national public awareness campaign being launched this month aims to discourage aquarium hobbyists and water gardeners from releasing unwanted aquarium and pond species into natural aquatic environments...

MAC Collector Training
As part of a new program by the Marine Aquarium Council (Honolulu), experienced collectors of marine fish and other organisms are learning how to train other collectors the skills they need to meet MAC certification standards...

AWA Covers Pet Birds, Rats and Mice
A court agreement meant to bring birds, rats and mice used in biomedical research under the protection of the Animal Welfare Act instead will cover those bred as pets, according to the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (Washington)...

MUMS Bill Passes House
After repeated introductions in Congress and protests by activists who want to limit the use of antibiotics in animals, legislation that paves the way to legally market drugs for animals such as ornamental aquarium and garden pond fish is finally ready for the President's signature...

States Crack Down on Snakeheads
Pet retailers joined pet owners and lobbyists in protesting a proposed state ban on possessing any kind of snakehead fish at a July hearing in Annapolis, Md...

UK May Bar Pet Sales to Kids
Children under 16 won't be able to buy pets in the United Kingdom under a sweeping new animal welfare law proposed in July by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs...

Aquarium Adventure Store No. 4
Aquarium Adventure, a wholly owned subsidiary of Petland Inc. (Chillicothe, Ohio), opened its fourth aquarium specialty superstore in July-a 10,200-square-foot location in Cincinnati...

First Canadian Retailer Certified
A Petland store in Victoriaville, Quebec, in July became the first to receive a certificate under the voluntary pet retail store certification program implemented by The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council Canada (Ottawa, Ontario)...

Shake a Paw Dispute
Another New Jersey retailer has laid claim to the "Shake a Paw" name and logo, contending that Jeffrey Morton of Oxford Puppy Group Inc. (Green Brook, N.J.) did not legally obtain trademark rights to the name in April 2003, as reported in "Shake a Paw Franchises" (June 2004)...

Natural Pet Products Boom
Americans spent more than $42.8 billion on natural and organic products in 2003, according to research published in the June issue of The Natural Foods Merchandiser, a trade publication serving the natural and organic products industry...

SuperZoo West Expands
The World Wide Pet Supply Association (Arcadia, Calif.) recently contracted for extra exhibit space at the Las Vegas Convention Center to accommodate companies put on a waiting list after the SuperZoo West show sold out. The trade show is scheduled for Sept. 22-23...

Seminars at Backer's Christmas Show
The Pet Industry Christmas Trade Show, to be held Oct. 8-10 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont (Chicago), Ill., will offer 10 free seminars for pet retailers and groomers-more than it has ever offered...