Do you know how large your cat or dog’s carbon “paw print” is?
The carbon dioxide equivalent of a great Dane is 2,500kg a year. Owning two is worse than driving a family car.
Our pets eat about one fifth of all the meat and fish sold globally.
An area double the size of the UK is used to produce dry pet food for cats and dogs annually, while approximately three million tons of fish are needed to feed our pets every single year.
And it’s getting worse. Last year, a staggering 3.2million Brits became new pet owners. It means there are now around 24 million pet cats and dogs in the UK.
The pet food industry is estimated to cause a quarter of the environmental impacts of meat production, which include phosphates, pesticides and greenhouse gases.
But you can make a difference. There are now ranges of eco-friendly pet food that can reduce that carbon paw print.
And simple swaps such as feeding your dog chicken can help.
Beef has a footprint of 25kg of carbon per kg but chicken is better, at 3.8 kg per bird. You could also use cat food made from insect protein, which produces 96% fewer greenhouse gases than beef.
Dog food containing insects went on sale for the first time in 2019, while vegan brands are increasingly available too.
Certain studies suggest it is as good as meat for dogs, although the British Veterinary Association recommends against vegan diets.
While the debate rages over whether or not dogs can stomach all that veg, it is accepted that cats cannot survive without a protein source.
We tend to overfeed our animals, spending £3.2billion on pet food last year. So simply stop stuffing them, suggests Mike Berners-Lee, who advises firms on how to reduce their carbon footprint and is the author of How Bad are Bananas?
Plastic toys and poo bags add up, too. We spent £35million a week on pet accessories alone last year. So switch to biodegradable bags and toys made from recycled materials to be a really responsible owner.
