Pet Know How:
Supporting Responsible Pet Sales for Businesses

Pet Know How is a free platform designed to assist pet sellers during the sales process, reducing staff time, empowering buyers to make informed decisions, and helping you meet your obligations under the Licensing of Activities Involving Animals (LAIA) regulations.

Streamlining Customer Education:

Staff often spend significant time explaining basic animal care to customers who may not yet have a clear understanding of the species they wish to keep. By directing prospective owners to complete Pet Know How quizzes, they can learn basic information about different species independently. This allows staff to dedicate more time providing detailed information to customers who are more likely to make a purchase. Your shop's website can also link to these quizzes, enabling potential buyers to explore different species before visiting your store.

Meeting LAIA Regulatory Requirements:

Pet sellers have mandatory legal obligations under the LAIA regulations, including providing comprehensive care information to pet buyers. 

Pet care leaflets or similar written or electronic instructions must be provided at the point of sale to promote responsible pet ownership. These materials should reference owner obligations under the Animal Welfare Act (2006) and outline the Act's Five Welfare Needs.   

Staff have the right to refuse a sale if they have concerns or are not satisfied that the prospective owner can meet the animal's welfare needs.

By requiring all pet purchasers to complete a Pet Know How quiz, businesses can not only fulfil this obligation but also obtain documented evidence for inspectors. If a customer is unable to complete the Pet Know How quiz, then this can help provide a basis for refusing a sale if required.

  • 3.2 The licence holder and all staff must ensure that the prospective owner is provided with information on the appropriate care of the animal including in relation to: (a) feeding (b) housing (c) handling

    (d) husbandry (e) the life expectancy of its species (f) the provision of suitable accessories (g) veterinary care"

Enhancing Staff Training and Development:

The LAIA regulations also require businesses to provide ongoing staff training. Pet Know How quizzes can be used to demonstrate Continuous Professional Development (CPD) or during the induction and training of new staff.

FAQ’s

  • Now that PKH is up and running, we aim to add more species as quickly as possible, working down the order of popularity. Please let us know if there is a species you particularly want added.

  • There are many ways pets can be kept, and often there isn't a single right or wrong approach. The care instructions in PKH are written by people familiar with the species, validated by vets and experienced keepers, and aim to represent best practices at the time of writing. Things change, though, and care evolves and improves, so if there's something you feel is incorrect, please let us know.

  • Neither do we! Pet Know How is not designed to stop people from getting pets, but rather to ensure they buy the right one. This is better for the pet owner, for businesses, for the reputation of the animal-keeping community as a whole, and, most importantly, for the welfare of the animals. None of us want to sell an animal to someone who isn't going to care for them correctly.

  • When a person starts the PKH test, there's an opportunity to enter an email address for a shop (which you can provide to your customer). Once they complete the test, the platform will automatically email you a PDF of their certificate, which you can then keep for inspection.

  • Not a problem! The platform has been designed to be compatible with smartphone displays, so they can take the test on their phone, and the certificate is emailed to you (as long as they enter the email address).

  • Hold that thought! We are aiming to expand the tests to include key learning for pet owners in bite-sized chunks. Things like UV lighting for reptiles, nutrition for rabbits, and so on. If you have a topic you want included, then let us know.