Animal Friends

Earlier this year, we were delighted to welcome Aaron Hester-Lowe FICA. Dip (Comp), Group Chief Compliance Officer for PPG UK and Europe, into our Senior Leadership Team at Animal Friends Insurance.   We sat down with Aaron to find out about his career journey so far, as well as what life looks like for him outside of the office. Welcome to the team, Aaron!   What’s been the highlight of your career so far? “I’m fortunate that I’ve had the opportunity to work for great organisations during my career that have helped to develop me professionally and personally. In a previous role, I was given the opportunity to move to Paris for work and had an amazing experience learning about their culture, learning French (badly), and falling in love with the city.”   Do you have any furry friends of your own? “A four-year-old Cocker Spaniel. She is great fun and my daughter’s best friend.”   You have a day off coming up, how will you spend it? “I love spending my free time travelling with my family and exploring new places. We had an incredible trip to Singapore over the summer, where we immersed ourselves in the culture, enjoyed the amazing local cuisine, and took in the extraordinary architecture.”   Is there an animal welfare charity, or conservation effort that you’re passionate about? “I’ve supported Woodgreen since my family rehomed our first cat as a child, and then later when my wife and I brought our first dog (Sofie, a Boxer). Their work is incredibly important and often provides vulnerable animals with a second chance at a happy life.”   #LifeAtAnimalFriends #WelcomeToTheTeam

Happy National Black Cat Day from all of us here at Animal Friends, where we think those adorable, but sometimes misunderstood mini-panthers deserve just as much love as every other kitty! Edison, so named by his paw-rents because he is the light of their lives, certainly agrees. 🐾

On Tuesday (Oct 22nd), we attended the #APDAWG event in Parliament; ‘Breaking the Link: Protect Animals. Protect People.’ This powerful evening was held to highlight animal welfare within domestic abuse and to discuss ideas on how we can tackle this important and emotive subject. Animals are being abused, threatened or killed within coercive control cases, a crime that affects over 2 million people a year in the UK. We believe pets are part of the family, and we heard from incredible speakers about how the current inefficiencies in legislation and safeguarding strategies are resulting in missed opportunities to stop animal abuse and protect vulnerable people. Much more education is needed on this topic, plus an increased support for vets who suspect animal abuse might be occurring within a domestic violence situation. Key stakeholders from multiple agencies are continuing to work hard to protect animals and also ensure that those suffering from coercive control and domestic violence are getting the support they need. Having attended the #AnimalsMatter event just a week prior, it's reassuring and heart-warming to see just how many people and organisations are passionately working together with the hope of making the changes that animals deserve, and we look forward to helping drive this change. Sam Beckinsale, Mary Wakeham, Rebecca Stephens , Dr Samantha Pickles, Dave Martin

To celebrate Reptile Awareness Day today, we're bringing you a fascinating and emotional podcast episode that ventures into the sea with Wildlife Vets International, who take us on a journey of saving, protecting, and educating when it comes to the world’s precious sea turtles. 🐢 https://lnkd.in/egy8ekMq. #AWalkinthePark #AnimalFriendsPodcast #Podcast #WildlifeVetsInternational #ReptileAwarenessDay

Beavers are nature's engineers! But why are they so hard to spot in the wild? While we have seen the creation of beaver licences, meaning it is illegal to modify or remove beaver habitats, the re-introduction of beavers sadly hasn’t gone smoothly. There are around 30 fenced enclosures where beavers have been reintroduced in England, but more habitats are needed. This will only get worse unless the government acts and starts accepting more requests to re-introduce beavers into the wild. We know that beavers play an important role in helping to combat climate change by helping the wetland's ecosystem, but did you know they can also help water quality, biodiversity, and to stop flooding? We stand with Cornwall Wildlife Trust, and all charities within The Wildlife Trusts, in their call for the UK government to... · Publish an ambitious beaver reintroduction strategy · Fund farmers and land managers in the two countries to make more space for water on their land · Support beaver management groups · Confirm all wild beavers can remain in England and Wales · Recognise beavers as a native species in Wales and provide them with full legal protection You can hear more about beavers in our new podcast episode: https://lnkd.in/edcCg8zm

Settling a new pet into the family is a very exciting time; a time for all the cuddles and nose boops, plenty of playtime, and of course, making those first treasured memories. At Animal Friends, we know just how important this time is to both pet parents, and their new furry family member, which is why we offer all our colleagues one day of paid ‘Pawternity’ leave per year, to truly make the most of their first moments together. When Will Jones (Junior Business Analyst) welcomed lovely Labrador, Halle, into the family, the two of them made good use of Will’s Pawternity Leave… “I took my Pawternity Leave the day after I brought home Halle, my yellow Lab. Having the ability to take an extra day off and not have it impact on my leave was a huge benefit. "Being able to fully focus on Halle during her first 48-hours in her new home was extremely valuable. Not only could I spend time playing with her (when she was awake), it made it easier to keep an eye on the tell-tail signs that she needed to go outside, which helped keep ‘accidents’ to a minimum.” #LifeAtAnimalFriends #PetsArePartoftheFamily #AnimalFriendsBenefits

Yesterday (16th Oct), we were delighted to head to Parliament to attend the Animals Matter reception hosted by FOUR PAWS, RSPCA, Humane Society International and Compassion in World Farming The inspiring speakers from these organisations, and from across the political spectrum, highlighted the need for more focus on animal welfare policies by the government to create a better life for every animal. Something we are very passionate about! To make this day even better, we also saw two fantastic Private Members Bills tabled for animal welfare that we hope will bring about much needed change: Ruth Jones MP with a proposal to ban the import of furs Danny Chambers MP brought forward his proposals to tackle puppy and kitten smuggling We will be following these Bills with keen interest and lending our support where and when it's needed. #AnimalWelfare #CreatingABetterLifeforEveryAnimal

Take us back to Pawfest 😭 It was a bark-tastic weekend in which we got to see many gorgeous furry faces, both familiar and new. 🐶 A MASSIVE thank you to every single one of you who visited our stand over the weekend, to have your Polaroid photo taken and pinned to our charity wall. Thanks to your kindness, we're so pleased to be donating £10,000 to both British Hedgehog Preservation Society and Brent Lodge Wildlife Hospital, two amazing charities looking after wildlife in the UK. And for now... bring on 2025! #Pawfest #DogFestival #ProudSponsor #BetteshangerPark #LifeatAnimalFriends #WildlyDifferent

It's World Mental Health Day! 🧠 Making time for exercise is not only great for our mental health, but our pet's, too 🐶😻 Joii Pet Care is back in this podcast episode to answer all your burning questions about your pet’s weight, their diet and exercise: https://lnkd.in/eKRe9taf #AWalkinthePark #AnimalFriendsPodcast #Podcast #JoiiPetCare #WorldMentalHealthDay #LifeatAnimalFriends

At Animal Friends, our colleague's mental health and wellbeing matters not just today, on World Mental Health Day, but every day. We truly believe in the power of connection and conversation; something which may seem simple, but can be a lifeline for those struggling with their mental health. That’s why we're expanding our Mental Health Ambassador team, training seven passionate individuals who will join the rest of the group in offering a friendly listening ear, reassurance, and guidance to their fellow colleagues towards appropriate support if they are struggling with any aspect of their mental health and wellbeing. Tom B. (Graphic Designer), one of our newest Ambassadors, let us know why this position is so important to him, and just what it means to him to be a Mental Health Ambassador. "I have a real passion for mental health and helping people. As someone who has been through their own struggles in the past, I'm keen to be an advocate for and champion mental health issues and support others in need.   We need to continue removing the stigma and nurture an environment where we can have open and honest conversations where everyone can feel comfortable to be their true authentic selves. I’m really excited to start my training in the next couple of weeks and being able to join our team of amazing mental health ambassadors/first-aiders." #LifeAtAnimalFriends #WorldMentalHealthDay #MentalHealthMatters