The month-long, friendly All-Latvian voting competition “Dog or Cat?”, Launched by the pet food brands “Whiskas” and “Pedigree”, with a vote of 49.8% against 50.2%, has revealed that we are a country of dog people. The purpose of the vote was to encourage people to stand up for animal welfare and safety. These are also the main goals of the International Day for the Protection of Animals, which was celebrated around the world on October 4.
From August 31 to midnight on October 3, the voting competition “Dog or cat?” Took place on a special voting platform sunsvaikakis.lv. Voting results show that 49.8% of the votes were in favor of cats and 50.2% in favor of dogs.
Skaiste Sruogaite, Mars Corporate Communications Director in the Baltic, Balkan and Adriatic countries: “The voting competition took place in all Baltic countries at the same time, collecting more than 150,000 votes in total. It clearly shows how many people stand up for our common values of animal welfare and safety. Both cats and dogs are great pets, and we admire the people who give them home, the proper care and love. To mark the International Animal Protection Day, we will donate 7 tons of pet food to animal shelters throughout Latvia. A similar amount of donation will go to animal shelters in Lithuania and Estonia. All donations will be delivered in the coming weeks. “
Astrīda Kārkliņa, the manager of the shelter “Labās mājas”, points out that with this activity we have shown the society how important pets play in our lives, and that a dog is not just a guard, but a cat is not a toy – they are our friends to be treated as against family members.
“Every year, about 10,000 abandoned pets live in animal shelters in Latvia. This is a huge number, which means that working on our society’s sense of responsibility and understanding of animal welfare is a process that needs to continue. Historically, shelters have taken care of animals whose owners have passed away or who have serious reasons why they cannot continue to take care of the pet. Unfortunately, we now see a lot of pet owners who lack responsibility, knowledge and empathy. That needs to change so that we can become a better society for our four-legged friends in the future. At the same time, we are very grateful for the donation, which will help us feed the shelter animals for about 4 months. As the pet food supply will have filled our shelter premises, we invite people to focus on other opportunities to help us – volunteer work, financial assistance, etc., ”points out A. Kārkliņa.
To announce the “Dog or Cat?” musicians Agnese Rakovska, musician Jānis Krīvēns, as well as social media content creator Evelīna Pārkere gathered in the animal shelter “Labās mājas” on October 4. They had the opportunity to learn more about the operation of the shelter, as well as to socialize the pets that currently live there.
A.Rakovska points out that she is really happy about the experience she has gained during this competition: “Friendship wins! And I believe in both cat and dog owners – together we can inspire even more people to be responsible and true animal friends! ”. Meanwhile, E. Bāliņš is positively surprised by the number of votes received during the competition: “Is it possible that cats and dogs have voted for themselves at night? There are no losers anyway – we are all winners! I believe that both pets at home and in shelters all over Latvia are very grateful for this noble gesture. ”
In the coming weeks, animal shelters in Latvia, namely “Ulubele”, “Labās mājas”, Sloka Animal Shelter, Jelgava Animal Shelter, associations “Pūkainis.lv”, “Liberta”, “With a heart in the palm”, will receive a total of 7 tons of “Whiskas” and “Pedigree” pet food.
By “Mars Petcare”
Mars Petcare has been operating for more than 75 years and includes three of the world’s five major pet food brands – PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS® and ROYAL CANIN®. Mars Petcare is a growing segment of approximately 50 brands, comprising approximately 75,000 employees from more than 55 countries, promoting the nutritional and health needs of various pets, such as dogs, cats, horses, fish and birds, and making it as one of the leading pet food companies in the world.
By “Mars, Incorporated”
Mars is a family business with a history of more than a century, producing a variety of products and services for people and their pets. With sales of more than $ 35 billion, the company is a global market player producing several of the world’s most beloved brands: M & M’s®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5 ™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN’S® and COCOAVIA®. Mars cares for half of the world’s pets through the company’s nutrition and health products as well as service businesses such as Banfield Pet Hospitals ™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, AniCura, VCA ™ and Pet Partners ™. Mars operates in more than 80 countries and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The five guiding principles of Mars – quality, responsibility, reciprocity, efficiency and freedom – inspire more than 125,000 employees to take action every day to help create a world of tomorrow in which the planet, its people and its pets can thrive.
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