Over the years many trends emerge in our pet population statistics. In 2008 we carried out research to give an insight into what the pet purchasing trends in the UK were;
- In 2008 there were 27 million pets in the UK with dogs and cats being the animal of choice for pet lovers with over 7.3 and 7.2 million across the UK respectively. (For the UK’s Top Ten Pets 2010 click here)
- 60% of single people in the UK bought a pet for companionship – 39% of whom replaced their partner with a pet
- 21% of owners bought their pet for companionship, compared to only 5% who had their pet for security
- 39% of London’s pet owners purchased their pet for companionship, despite having 7.5 million neighbours across the city.
To view the reasons for the choice
of pet please select the chart
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21% of pet owners wanted a pet since childhood, and almost of half of people living in the North East wanted a pet since their early years
- The East Midlands had the most pet lovers, with 14% of the pet population living in the heart of the UK, compared to only 4% of the population residing in Wales.
To view regional pet population
statistics click here - Over a quarter (27%) of the UK’s pets were bought or acquired from an animal welfare or rescue centre compared to 20% from a pet shop
To view where pets are aquired
from please select the chart