Carbon footprint of pet ownership
Just as it was revealed that pet ownership in the UK has soared during lockdown, a study shows the actual impact of such pet ownership on the planet.
Nearly half of all Britons who currently own a pet got at least one other during lockdown, and 10% of those households without a pet intend to get one in the next six months. The surge in popularity of pet ownership was uncovered by research that was carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the investment company LetterOne.
The research comes just as the University of Edinburgh revealed analysis of the carbon footprint of pet food production, with an area equivalent to twice the size of the UK being used to produce dry food for cats and dogs each year, and that the industry is emitting more greenhouse gases than countries such as Mozambique and the Philippines.
The team analysed data on the main ingredients of more that 280 types of dry pet food available, which accounts for 95% of all pet food sales in the US and Europe, regions which account for two thirds of global sales. Around 49 million hectares of agricultural land is used to make this food including the crop plants of maize, rice of wheat. Associated greenhouse gas emissions of 106 million tonnes of carbon dioxide were recorded, a country producing such levels would be the worlds sixtieth highest emitter.
Comments
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Interesting but really nothing can be done about it I would say?
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Probably the benefits to mankind are enormous, especially at this time.
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Dog ownership in this area has increased massively since last years lock down,as there is not any restrictions on exercising(walks) i even have a letter from the Transport Secretary(our MP) advising of this
Some weeks ago a climate change scientist from one of the Cambridge Uni was on or local TV news and advised that the first lockdown which was far more stringent than the recent two ,the pollution in the atmosphere reduced by under 10%
And as has been said before, figures can be "manipulated" to answer how and why the question was asked ,as with any surveys ,it is how it is formated as to what the end result portrays
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"Dog ownership in this area has increased massively since last years lock down,as there is not any restrictions on exercising(walks) i even have a letter from the Transport Secretary(our MP) advising of this"
You can tear up that letter from Grant Shapps now, JVB! If you go to the gov.uk covid website and type "dog walking" in the search box it states there clearly that dog walking is allowed more than once a day - an exemption on "animal welfare" grounds. Good, innit? 👍 🐕
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Not quite sure of he reason for your post Whittaker. Are you hinting via the report that dogs and cats are a prime reason for the coming end of the World, or is it just a random out of context snippet from a full report on pet ownership? A balanced view would be good.
Most pet food is the by products of what humans won’t eat, so hardly fair to blame the poor dogs and cats.
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If only Institutes would devote more time in coming up with a way to capture Methane from the rear end of cows instead of these reports it might actually be of more benefit to the planet.
At the moment both just produce a lot of useless gas.
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Not hinting at anything. Just passing on information as given to me. No hidden agenda.
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Well that’s good to know, but a bit strange to only hint at a possible problem in respect of pet ownership😁 They do come with huge benefits as well👍 Thanks for responding.
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Like I said, no hidden agenda. Just passing on information given to me verbatim. I didn't, and have no intention of looking any deeper.
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Whatever the 9 million UK dogs are eating today's news says it is yielding 3000 tonnes of dog excrement per day . It's not only a carbon footprint problem - it's the other sort of footprint too.
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The Amazon rain forest(lungs of the Planet) is being systematically destroyed in Brazil to allow for Beef production, vast amounts of the Worlds soya crop goes to feeding beef production🤷🏻♂️, no argument just facts👍🏻
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I reckon my carbon footprint is small enough to compensate for keeping a dog. Haven’t been in a plane for 40 years, don’t have a gas guzzling car (although I do own a Motorhome
), rarely eat meat, don’t have a dishwasher or a tumble drier.
Having a dog has kept me sane this past year too6 -
That could also be helping the growth of greenery that it seems has been shooting up in the last few years in areas that dogs are exercised
But then human"treated ?" waste from sewerage plants is now quite a popular "fertiliser?" being used on arable farms to assist with growing ,and just think how much we produce
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and your solution is?
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I sense this is going places where it's best not to wander😕
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+1👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻
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Various solutions:
- stick and flick in the right location would minimise the number of bags used and the considerable number not disposed of properly and left instead to besmirch our open spaces.
- encourage the introduction/ requirement of a small gully direct to the foul system on new houses for the disposal of dog poo.
- I'm sure if dogs can be trained to act as guide dogs they could be used to defecate in a small area (like cats) to enable the disposal as above.
- Council bins which are used to collect poo bags could also be lined with bio degradable bags.
- Obviously we could just carry on as we are and do nothing but what will this country be like in 20 years time?
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It is normally ok in this area ,as if out in the countryside ,the majority of dog owners either bag it and put it in bins or are of the Stick and Flick owners if not in the areas of bins ,so wandering is normally OK and one can admire the countryside ,where as in France especially ,it is a case of "eyes down" where you wander
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Oh I somehow think this might have been the planned pathway...... The dog lovers are out there enjoying their walks, companionships, etc....
Others look to fill their excess time in less constructive, fun filled ways.
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