Pets are 'good' for everyone, not a luxury - Lifestyle

World Animal Day

is celebrated on 4 October

, celebrated on the day dedicated to Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals.

Born with the aim of safeguarding and raising awareness on the rights and welfare of animals, this day is an opportunity to recall the importance of the well-being of pets which are in 40% of Italian families, mostly dogs and / or cats. .

It is now established that the company of pets generates physical and psychological benefits for the family they are part of, helps children in growth, the elderly in movement and mood and, without distinction, everyone for the company.

It is the duty of the family to respect the ethological and physiological characteristics of the pet and take responsibility for them, taking care of the well-being, health, social interactions with other animals, other people and with the environment.

Good health and long life of pets, in fact, depend to a large extent on nutrition and medical care.

Pet food and veterinary services are subject to a

, like a luxury item.

The national association of companies for the food and care of companion animals, Assalco, together with the major associations in the sector that bring together veterinarians and companies in animal nutrition and veterinary drugs (Anmvi, Fnovi, Simevep, Enpav, Aisa, Ascofarve and Assalzoo) on 4 October draws attention to the need to reduce the VAT on food for dogs and cats and on veterinary services.

In Germany, given the daily use and the role of pets in society, the VAT rate on dog and cat food is 7%.

Italian families therefore bear VAT equal to more than three times that of German families.

An important tax burden that falls directly on Italian families, incompatible with post-emergency impoverishment.

For this reason, the most important associations in the sector have asked the Government and the Parliament that, at the first useful measure, food for dogs and cats and veterinary services are permanently placed in the subsidized VAT bracket at 10%, the same as for veterinary medicines.

An open letter has been sent on this to the Government and Parliament.

With a view to 'good for all and not luxury', the initiative of a Milanese startup should be emphasized.

5.6 million tons of food: these are the incredible numbers of food waste in Italy, according to a research conducted by Istituto Green Bocconi.

A surplus generated above all by the first part of the production chain: producers, distributors and catering operators are "responsible", alone, for 57% of the total surplus.

Thus the pet food startup Dog Heroes (www.dogheroes.it), a home delivery service for fresh dog food, invented the recipe for the

managing to save about 3 tons of food in a year .

Such as?

By intervening at the beginning of the supply chain and recovering the surplus directly from the producer: 30% of the total of Dog Heroes baby food, in fact, are produced by optimizing the surplus of food processing for human use, thus reducing food surpluses.

«Dog Heroes was created to

.

Our baby food is cooked fresh, customized to the needs of the individual dog according to Fediaf guidelines and are the result of selection processes of raw materials and production processes identical to those of human food production - explain Pierluigi Consolandi and Marco Laganà, co-founders of Dog Heroes - In this sense, we have made the selection of the best raw materials coincide with the fight against waste: in our recipes there is over 60% of protein, which often comes from the excess processing of recipes intended for human use.

This is a process optimization, which in one year has allowed us to recover over 3 tons of quality food ».

The recipes studied by veterinarians who are experts in balanced nutrition with a lot of meat (over 50%), vegetables, cereals, vitamins and minerals, all cooked in a laboratory in Lombardy.