The Waltham Petcare Science Institute is the science hub for Mars Petcare, owned by

Mars, Incorporated Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest priva ...

located at

Waltham on the Wolds Waltham on the Wolds is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Waltham on the Wolds and Thorpe Arnold, in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It lies about north-east of Melton Mowbray and south-west of Grantham ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, United Kingdom. Waltham conducts scientific research into pet care and

animal nutrition Animal nutrition focuses on the dietary nutrients needs of animals, primarily those in agriculture and food production, but also in zoos, aquariums, and wildlife management. Constituents of diet Macronutrients (excluding fiber and water) provide ...

(for dogs, cats, fish and horses).

History

The pet food subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated (Mars Petcare) began research into pet nutrition in the early 1960s, formally founding a Nutrition Research Unit in 1965. Originally the institute was housed at a nearby location but was moved to an old stud farm at Waltham-on-the-Wolds in 1973. Since 2001, a non-charitable organisation called the Waltham Foundation has funded a number of humane scientific research projects dedicated to furthering the health and nutrition of companion animals. An August 2019 documentary on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

made by Whitworth Media featured the site.

Research

*In July 2005, in collaboration with the

Monell Chemical Senses Center The Monell Chemical Senses Center is a non-profit independent scientific institute located at the University City Science Center campus in Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania. Monell conducts and publishes interdisciplinary basic research on taste, Olfa ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, Waltham discovered that cats cannot taste sweet food because they have a faulty gene. Lions, tigers, leopards and pumas (family

Felidae Felidae () is the family of mammals in the order Carnivora colloquially referred to as cats, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a felid (). The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to the ...

) have the same defective gene. * In April 2007, in collaboration with the

National Human Genome Research Institute The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is an institute of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland. NHGRI began as the Office of Human Genome Research in The Office of the Director in 1988. This Office transi ...

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, Waltham found that the genetic variation of dogs' size is due to mutations in the

IGF-1 Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), also called somatomedin C, is a hormone similar in molecular structure to insulin which plays an important role in childhood growth, and has anabolic effects in adults. IGF-1 is a protein that in humans is ...

gene. This was discovered through research on the

Portuguese Water Dog The Portuguese Water Dog originated from the Algarve region of Portugal. From there the breed expanded to all around Portugal's coast, where they were taught to herd fish into fishermen's nets, retrieve lost tackle or broken nets, and act as ...

. This research was preparatory work for similar studies on the human genome.

Publications

*Waltham originally published the magazine ''Waltham Focus'' four times a year. This has since been renamed as ''Veterinary Focus'' and is distributed in more than fifty countries and is published in several languages. * ''The Waltham Book of Companion Animal Nutrition'', 15 July 1993,

Butterworth–Heinemann Butterworth–Heinemann is a British publishing company specialised in professional information and learning materials for higher education and professional training, in printed and electronic forms. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of Hei ...

, 136pp, * ''The Waltham Book of Human Animal Interaction'', 30 September 1995,

, 148pp, HC 0-08-042285-3 PB * ''Waltham pocket book of essential nutrition for cats and dogs. 2nd edition'', 2012 * ''Waltham pocket book of human animal interactions'', 2012 * ''Waltham pocket book of puppy nutrition and care'', 2012 * ''Waltham pocket book of healthy weight maintenance for cats and dogs'', 2010

Structure

Waltham houses and cares for around 200 dogs and 350 cats. The companion animals involved with the organisation are adopted after a period of time. The UK headquarters of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

was built next to the Centre in 1981. There is another research site at

Verden an der Aller Verden an der Aller (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Veern''), also called Verden (Aller) or simply Verden, is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, on the river Aller. It is the district town of the district of Verden in Lower Saxony and an independent munici ...

in north Germany, at Mars Petcare's largest factory in Europe.

References

External links