Millions have ‘given up’ household pets this year

YOU do know I like to keep you informed, and so I present to you some snippets, to be considered, or discussed.

● The Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association released a report that shows there are currently 35million pets in the UK, with 17.4million households (62 per cent) now owning one.

There are 13million dogs (up one million on 2021), 12million cats, 1.6million indoor birds, one million rabbits, 500,000 pet snakes and 600,000 turtles and tortoises.

● While 4.7million households have acquired a pet since the start of Covid, 3.4million have “given up” a pet in the last year – 71 per cent of those relinquishing a pet were 16 to 34 years old.

● The RSPCA, alluding to the sharp rise in the cost of living, cited search engine data that showed an increase in the number of people typing “Can I give my dog paracetamol?” into

Google. In January 2020 there were 5600 searches. They rose to 11,400 in April 2020 and to 14,600 in January 2022. Facing its own financial challenges, RSPCA chief vet Caroline Allen said the organisation was going to “focus its efforts on its core mission to prevent cruelty to animals”.

● The last three children that died after being attacked by dogs were aged four years, 17 months and three months. There is no requirement to pass a knowledge test or apply for a licence to keep a dog in the UK.

● A study, reported in the Journal of Small Animal Practice, which tested faecal samples from 190 dogs, demonstrated that dogs fed raw meat are more likely to carry antibiotic-resistant E. Coli than dogs fed a conventional non-raw diet, potentially posing a risk to both dogs and their owners.

It recommended that vets ensure their clients are aware of the risks of feeding raw meat-based diets and the importance of good hygiene practices in reducing the risk of spreading resistant bacteria.

● According to a University of Liverpool study, published in Scientific Reports in 2021, the number of people admitted to hospital as a result of dog bites tripled between 1998 and 2018 – 54.7 per cent of those bitten had never met the dog before.

● The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence indicates that a quarter of a million people present to minor injury and emergence departments with dog bites and that, after dog and cat bites, human bite wounds are the third most common bite injury. Remarkably, 1 in 600 children will attend A&E as a result of a human bite.