Island Life Magazine Ltd April / May 2016 | Page 128

Language

Island

All working dogs
to be chipped

N

FU Mutual, the UK’s leading rural
insurer, is reminding those with working
dogs that, from April 6th 2016, all dogs must
be micro chipped by law and that failing to
comply may result in a £500 fine.
NFU Mutual, which offers insurance for
both pet and working dogs, hopes that the
new law will make it easier for lost or stolen
dogs to be re-united with their owners.
In 2015, the insurer saw an increase in the
cost for claims involving working dogs that
had strayed or been stolen with the average
claim costing £1,368.
Commenting on the issue, Nicki Whittaker,
a Rural Affairs Specialist for NFU Mutual said:
“Although many owners worry about their
dogs being stolen, our claims data suggests
that straying is a much more likely cause for
disappearance. Sadly, the majority of these
claims involved dogs that were injured by a
vehicle whilst straying: in cases such as these,
a microchip would make it much easier to
locate the owner if the dog is injured or has
caused an accident.
“Many people think of working dogs as
sheepdogs and gun dogs but, in fact there
are many thousands of working dogs in
the UK carrying out a wide variety of duties
including: guide dogs; assistance dogs; police
dogs; security dogs and the mountain rescue
search dogs which assist the mountain
rescue teams in areas of the UK.
“If people haven’t had their dog
microchipped your local vet should be able
to help you.”

Y

ou may never have even heard
of it, but worldwide language
travel company EF has quietly
been bringing hundreds of students to
the Isle of Wight for the past 40 years
– and now it’s appealing for more host
families to welcome 10-14 year-old
language learners from all over the
world.
EF, which was founded in 1965 by
Swedish university student Bertil Hult,
is based on the idea that the best way to
learn a language is to experience it.
Since th en it’s grown to over 50
countries - and in the UK, the Isle of
Wight is one of the top location choices.
Jesse MacEwan, who runs the
accommodation department on the
Island in Holyrood Street, Newport, says
that because students are relatively
young, their parents are reassured that

the Isle of Wight is a safe and secure
environment, away from big cities.
Most students come from China,
Germany, France, Spain and Italy and
this year there will also be some arriving
from the Middle East.
Programmes run from June to August
and with the business still growing,
there’s a need for more host families to
accommodate the visiting youngsters.
Says Jesse: “Our host families really
enjoy it and a lot make friends for life,
with return visits to the students’ home
countries and sometimes ongoing
involvement with their families”.
Host families need to provide a
separate room for the students with
adequate space.
For more information, call EF on
01983 821133 or check out the website
www.ef.co.uk/host-family