Vegetarian? It may be because of pets

IT’S well documented that looking after a pet encourages children to be responsible.

But it seems those hamsters and gerbils could be influencing young carers’ eating habits in later life.

A study, published in the journal Appetite, claims giving a child a pet could turn them into vegetarians.

Psychologist and stusy author Sydney Heiss, State University of New York at Albany, said: ‘Exposure to a greater number of different childhood pets leads to greater restriction of animal products from the diet through more positive attitudes to animals and a moral opposition to animal exploitation.’