A PORT Glasgow businesswoman has joined forces with a senior Inverclyde politician to demand stricter regulation in the pet grooming industry.

Christina O’Donnell, who runs Pawsitively Purrfect, approached Stuart McMillan MSP with her concerns following a surge in the number of animal grooming services popping up across Inverclyde and beyond.

Christina is concerned that people are able to set up a business in the industry without any training, licensing, insurance or animal first aid experience.

She says the lack of regulation in the industry is a 'well-kept secret' and now wants changes to be made.

Mr McMillan has pledged to take Christina's concerns to the Scottish Government.

Christina said: "At this point, you don't need anything to start out as a dog groomer.

"There's no pre-requisite.

"It's easy to get insurance, no questions are asked.

"It's really concerning that people can just decide to watch a video on YouTube and then call themselves dog groomers."

The businesswoman says the cost of pet grooming training in Scotland puts people off and pushes them into adopting another approach.

Christina added: "If you want to train in dog grooming in Scotland, you have to pay for it and it can cost up to £3,000.

"It's prohibitive and restrictive for people.

"There's no government funding.

"People who decide they want to do it but can't afford the training just decide to teach themselves how to do it then set up on their own."

Christina is adamant that anyone setting up a pet grooming business should be required to have a licence and insurance, and be properly trained.

The businesswoman has been running Pawsitively Purrfect for almost five years and works with dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs

She delivers training and speaks at seminars, and became an instructor in pet first aid.

Christina is now campaigning for apprenticeship programmes to be introduced to provide people with the correct skills, experience and documentation needed to set up a pet grooming business.

She added: "People should have support to train.

"Grooming isn't just about giving a pet a haircut.

"It's about the health and wellbeing of the animal first and aesthetics second.

"You have to know about the anatomy of the animal, their behaviour and know how to handle them in any situation.

"Looking after someone's pet is a huge responsibility.

"Pets are part of the family."

Mr McMillan has thanked Christina for raising the issue with him.

He added: "I'm quite sure that many people are not aware of the lack of regulation within the pet grooming industry.

"I will be raising the issue with the Scottish Government and have written to them.

"This is about the safety and security of our pets and is a very important issue."