It was a special moment when the team at Vetpol contacted us to say that they’d added the Hestia Safe Spaces widget to their website.
By hosting Hestia’s Safe Spaces widget on their website, Vetpol are providing their SQPs with an invaluable resource to support themselves, their colleagues, their customers and their customers’ animals. Read on to find out why.
Vetpol have been a strong supporter of The Links Group, both behind the scenes and by actively helping us raise awareness of the link between abuse of animals and abuse of people. In November 2024, we were a part of Vetpol’s Munch & Learn online event, with a presentation by Emily Mills, RVN, Links Group speaker and Vet Projects Manager at Dogs Trust. In April this year, the Vetpol team demonstrated their understanding of this difficult area and their commitment to the well-being and training opportunities for Suitably Qualified Persons (SQPs) and animal welfare by hosting us in the incredible Thingamajig Room at April’s SQP Congress 2025 in Loughborough.
This unique environment provided us with the space and time to listen to and speak with SQPs from a range of backgrounds, and hear their experiences of “The Link” in their lives and working roles, particularly in pet retail.
SQPs are individuals from a range of backgrounds who have all received a particular format of training to allow them to prescribe and supply certain classifications of veterinary medicines, working from authorised SQP retailer premises. They are qualified in Companion Animal (dogs, cats, rabbits), Equine, Farm or Avian, or any combination. SQPs qualified with Vetpol are trained in the broader aspects of animal health, including general welfare and appropriate care. Find out more about this in our blog here and their fast-track training from director and Links Group supporter Caroline Johnson here.
Given the amount of time small animal, equine and farm animal owners and carers may spend talking to SQPs, the relationships that SQPs may build up with owners over time, and the range of environments in which they work – particularly pet shops – it’s essential that we support their learning on The Link. By working together, we can help each other in protecting animals and protecting people.
Hestia’s Safe Spaces widget is a portal of information, resources, and discreet pathways to specialist support on company websites for people experiencing domestic abuse. Many businesses have adopted Online Safe Spaces, which have been accessed over 1.5 million times.
This unique widget, located at the bottom centre of the Vetpol webpages, opens as an untraceable pop-up window, leaving no internet history and providing quick exit options for the person seeking help.
This safe online access to advice and help is critical. Victims of domestic abuse may have their physical and online movements tracked by their abuser. However, they may be ‘allowed’ to visit certain websites, for example, to pay bills or book appointments, or those associated with their work.
The Links Group is delighted that Vetpol has joined other veterinary professional associations in GB and NI to support their colleagues, customers, and all working in the animal sector through this scheme. Adoption of Hestia’s initiative will help ensure that trusted veterinary community websites can effectively signpost to reliable resources under difficult circumstances.
Thank you to the Vetpol team for their ongoing support of the work of The Links Group.
