The Eco Pets League

Environmental concerns have never been so important as more of us wake up to the reality that we need to live greener if we are to protect our planet. But when it comes to choosing a pet how many of us consider the impact our choice will have on the Earth?

New analysis has revealed essentially the most and least eco-friendly pets with tortoises winning the race, whereas cats and canines are among the worst offenders in relation to damaging the setting.

It’s estimated that 44% of UK households have pets with more than 51 million pets in Britain. Collectively they have a huge impact on the environment, so it makes sense to look more closely at the impact each type of pet has.

The most popular pet in the UK today is the cat with an estimated 26% of adults owning one. That means the cat population of Britain is just under 11 million. Dogs are also incredibly popular. Before the Covid pandemic, it was estimated that 24% of UK adults owned a pet dog – making the canine population of Britain just over 10 million according to the PDSA (People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals). But it is believed that number could’ve grown by as much as 10% during the lockdown. If so, dogs now rival cats as our most popular pet with 11 million of each.

Yet ironically, the most popular pets could be some of the least eco-friendly. With increasing numbers of people making consumer choices based on environmental factors, especially young people, could the age of mass cat and dog ownership be coming to an end? We decided to look into the environmental impact of 20 popular pets to see exactly which were the most impactful to the planet.

To read the full article on eco-pets click here