Russian meeting point

Meeting at the Lenexpo Exhibi­tion Complex from 11 to 13 October, pet industry specialists as well as experts from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, China, Brazil, Thailand, Turkey, France, Spain, Belgium and other countries swapped information and opinions. Yuri Andreev, head of the St Peters­burg Veterinary Department, said at the opening ceremony: “The Zoosphere exhibition has become a bit of a tradition which, hopefully, we will now never lose.” Sergei Voronkov, executive director of exhibition company ExpoForum, added: “Zoosphere is one of the best exhibitions in the company’s port­folio, both in terms of the breadth of participants and the number of pet products and services on offer.“ Extensive accompanying programme At Veterinary Days, leading veterinarians demonstrated the latest breakthroughs in pet immunology, ophthalmology, osteo­pathy, dentistry, and surgery. At the student conference, up-and-coming specialists spoke on their research work, which covered the treatment of kidney diseases, endocrine glands and the musculoskeletal system in animals. Among the exhibition attendees was Heiko Bleher, a world-famous marine biologist. He described his experience of the construction of aqua­scapes: “A biotope is an area of uniform natural conditions, ideal for the coexistence of various living organisms and plants.” He stressed that biotope aquariums should precisely reproduce the conditions of the natural habitat of the fish. A number of friendly competitions added variety to Zoosphere as well. This year marked the debut of the grooming show together with the first international groomer competition, held under the auspices of the European Grooming Association. For the second time, the exhibition also hosted the tropical biotope, attracting participants from Russia and Ukraine. The miniature recreations of bodies of water from nearly every continent on earth were evaluated by the jury, chaired by Heiko Bleher, based on a number of criteria: selection of plant and fish species, variety, and similarity of the water and soil to the modelled area (natural biotope). Another contest covered terrarium design. Participants had to pass an online selection process to earn the right to display their work at the exhibition. Last but not least, the Zoo Show, held during the final days of the exhibition, gave animal lovers the opportunity to view over 3 000 dogs, around 500 cats, over 200 rodents, roughly 100 weasels and ferrets…