PET OWNERSHIP TRENDS
Why do people keep pets (2008)? % of households with cats, dogs, rabbits and other pets (2011).
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:
60% of single people in the UK bought a pet for companionship.
21% of owners bought their pet for companionship, compared to only 5% who had their pet for security reasons.
39% of London’s pet owners purchased their pet for companionship, despite having 7.5 million neighbours across the city.
21 % of pet owners wanted a pet since childhood, and almost half of people living in the North East wanted a pet since their early years.
Top five reasons for owning a cat or dog are (2008):
Companionship
Owner/partner/child always wanted one
Owner believes that they are easy to look after
They were rescued
Fits in with lifestyle
In 2011 the percentage of households owning a pet in the UK were broken down as follows;
Dog: 22%
Cat: 18%
Indoor Fish: 9%
Outdoor Fish: 6%
Rabbits: 2.7%
Indoor Birds: 2%
Guinea Pigs: 1.5%
Hamster: 1.4% Domestic Fowl: 0.6%
Horses/Ponies: 0.2%
Tortoises/turtles: 0.6%
Gerbils: 0.1%
Snakes: 0.4%
Lizards: 0.6%
Rats: 0.4%
