A new £250,000 state-of-the-art vehicle designed to "revolutionise" animal welfare awareness across the UK has ben unveiled by the PDSA charity.

The new 18-tonne PetWise Mobile Unit, made possible thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery, will enable the charity to treat animals and boost disease prevention.

It was officially unveiled at the Family Pet Show in Manchester, at the weekend and has since hit the road, touring towns and cities across Britain.

Rebecca Ashman, Veterinary Campaigns Manager at PDSA, said: “As well as treating pets in need, we are passionate about preventing sickness and helping people their pets healthy and happy. So our PDSA PetWise Mobile Unit is a major new addition for the charity. Together with our two smaller PetWise vans, it can revolutionise how animal welfare is promoted in communities up and down the country.

“From this vehicle we can perform minor operations, run vaccination clinics and offer free dog health checks. But its benefits don’t end there, because the truck can also open up to host classroom lessons for schoolchildren or even pet first aid courses.

“This dream has been made a reality thanks to generous support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.”

The new unit boasts two vet consulting rooms with oxygen facilities, moveable seating, a widescreen TV and built-in iPads so schoolchildren can take part in interactive educational games.

Hazel Johnstone, Senior Programmes Manager at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “The new PDSA PetWise Mobile Unit is absolutely fantastic and we’re delighted that support from players will be making a huge difference to animal welfare through this important project.

“Not only will it provide a mobile unit to deliver potentially lifesaving vaccinations and procedures, but it will also provide a modern, high-tech mobile unit for PDSA to educate the pet owners of today and the future.”

We believe the new vehicle will help tackle a major lack of awareness of animal welfare in the UK. According to our latest Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report*, just 38% of pet owners are familiar with the Animal Welfare Acts, and, worryingly, a quarter have never even heard of them. These Acts of Parliament underpin everything that animals need in order to be happy and healthy. 

The new mobile unit forms part of  the PDSA's larger PetWise on tour fleet, which now consists of three vehicles touring the country every year, dispensing great pet care advice.

PetWise on tour events can be found at https://www.pdsa.org.uk/get-involved/events