Press Release

Written By Fahmida C

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 04/07/23

Paw Pal Yoga’s Commitment to Animal Welfare 

As London’s leading pet yoga organisation, Paw Pal Yoga are issuing this statement in response to recent reports of malpractice within the industry. Whilst we are deeply concerned by the findings of the ITV News investigation, we welcome this investigation as it sheds light on unethical operators who are completely disregarding animal rights and basic animal welfare under the guise of Puppy Yoga.

As such, we would like to highlight that we have no connection to any of the organisations who were the subject of this investigation and set forth in this statement our practices which completely separates us from such organisations and their unethical practices. 

Our Principles:

At Paw Pal Yoga, our commitment to animal welfare is paramount to and remains at the forefront of everything that we stand for. Consequently, since our inception we have maintained the highest standards of care of animals. This, together with the full transparency with which we run our classes means that we have built a stellar reputation as a trusted organisation in the industry.

Our Practices:

The following common-practices which differentiate our approach to that of unethical organisations are detailed as follows:

  • We only partner with trusted, responsible breeders and take care to ensure that pets come from loving and caring homes;

  • Unlike other organisations, we do not allow alcohol to be brought into or consumed on any of our premises. The pairing of alcoholic beverages and the consumption thereof as part of ‘Puppy Events’ is something we vehemently oppose as it is completely unsafe;

  • Unlike other organisations, we do not, nor have we ever centred the experience at our class to be solely around ‘Puppy Play’ or Puppy Play-Time;

  • Indeed, we recognise the vital importance of rest in the lives of young animals and our classes have been specifically designed to incorporate 30 minutes of yoga (during which time pets rest), followed by 30 minutes in which attendees can interact with the pets; 

  • In our classes you will always see the availability and easy accessibility of water bowls for the animals;

  • Each of our classes begins with a health and safety demonstration, clearly showing attendees how to handle animals (for example, by ensuring both hands are used to hold the animals and avoiding putting pressure on joints which are still developing);

  • We make it explicitly clear that standing up with pets in attendees’ hands is not permitted at any point in the session;

  • We have Puppy-Handlers at all of our sessions, who are trained specifically to be responsible for the care of puppies, particularly in ensuring that puppies are being handled with care by attendees, that puppy waste is cleared up promptly and; that water bowls are replenished throughout the sessions;

  • We work closely with breeders to understand and maintain the feeding times of the pets;

  • In the interest of upholding the highest standards of health and safety, we thoroughly sanitise our studios, particularly with Parvo-Virucide;

  • Shoes are not permitted in the studio to minimise the risk of germs being brought into the studio and so too, are participants told to sanitise their hands before entering the studio space and lastly;

  • We comply with all of the relevant sections of The Animal Welfare Act.

The Future:

We are dedicated to working closely with the respective agencies to maintain a high standard of animal welfare at our classes. We encourage open dialogue on animal welfare at our classes and would like to take this opportunity to reassure our valued clients, partners, and the public that we remain focussed on our commitment to the ethical and fair treatment of animals.

We will continue to uphold the highest standards of care and best-practices at our classes.

The Team at Paw Pal Yoga

Fahmida C