Can you really afford a puppy? Britain is facing a petcare crisis after a lockdown boom in demand for dogs
Even the Chancellor of the Exchequer has succumbed to the lockdown-induced rush for puppies. It’s easy to do when one of those furry little faces is staring up at you, especially after the dreary year we’ve had shut up in our homes.
While Rishi Sunak can probably afford to look after his new pup, there are many in the country who rushed into the decision and are now facing much bigger bills than they expected.
Long before Covid, Britain’s dog population had been rising steadily to sit at 12.5 million in 2021 – a 64 per cent increase over the last decade. An estimated 3.2 million households welcome a dog into their family during lockdown.
Dogs are incredibly loving and loveable creatures, providing us endless joy. Around 80 per cent of people say they talk to their dog “all day long” when they’re in the house together and almost every dog owner says their dog improves their mental wellbeing.
But we are facing what could spiral into a significant petcare crisis, unless we see stronger regulation and education for people about the costs and care requirements of domestic animals, specifically dogs.
The Pet Food Manufacturers Association reports that 11 per cent of new lockdown owners have since given up their dog. This is at least partly driven by people not knowing about the environment and lifestyle requirements of specific breeds, something the private sector has been working hard to improve.
According to the Kennel Club, almost a quarter of new owners already feared they would not be able to provide a suitable home post-lockdown. Similarly, a quarter of them admitted to having bought a puppy during the pandemic following “little research”, and a fifth didn’t know whether their dog would “suit their post-lockdown lifestyle”, citing time and cost commitments among their chief concerns.
For some people the pandemic has brought severe financial insecurity and created such a change in circumstances that they have had to reluctantly part with much loved pets. These people are themselves victims of circumstance and require the essential support offered by animal charities. The private sector has worked hard to support here too, much like the partnership between our business and StreetVet, and creating a Community Fund in 2020.
But the truth is, many of us aren’t aware of the real cost of pet ownership. ThePeople’s Dispensary for Sick Animals estimates that the cost of owning a dog can be as much as £30,000 over its lifetime, not including vet’s bills. That means, as a nation, we could be looking at up to £375bn to look after the pets we already own over the course of their lives.
In many ways it feels like it’s the best of times for UK dog ownership. Major investors recognising a long-undisrupted market are investing heavily in the application of new technologies in products and services, so the sector itself is having a renaissance. We ourselves started in a one-bedroom flat in 2013 and today provide bespoke, nutritionally tailored meals for more than a quarter of a million dogs. Additionally, a major investment in 2018 has helped us create extra manufacturing sites and expand into seven new European markets in 2020. Petcare as a hub for talent and innovation is booming.
Yet for dogs, it feels like it could turn into the worst of times, and knowing that more dogs than ever are needing to be re-homed is difficult for many of us. We’re also seeing a heartbreaking rise in illegal farming to meet the demands of families after a puppy. Around 400,000 farmed puppies are thought to be sold in the UK each year.This is compounded by consumer demand for designer breeds, many of which have increasingly severe long term health issues (and big vet bills). It is all these factors combined that are catalysing a crisis.
It’s time to learn from the lockdown puppy boom and commit to a more caring and regulated care system for dogs, who bring so much happiness and companionship when we treat them with the respect they’re owed. If we don’t, they face a very uncertain future.