MORE THAN 4 MILLION HOMELESS COMPANION PETS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Source: IOL (Extract)
Posted: June 1, 2022
MARS Petcare and Royal Canin have launched the first State of Pet Homelessness Index in collaboration with leading animal welfare experts.
The index evaluates data from more than 200 global and local sources, boosted by quantitative research on consumer attitudes to pets and is a measure of pet homelessness at a point in time.
Initial data on South Africa indicates that an estimated 4,1 million companion pets are currently homeless in the country.
The research revealed that of the key challenges contributing towards the homelessness are lack of pet-friendly housing and expensive veterinary costs amongst others.
Tumi Masekela, corporate affairs director at Mars Multisales Southern Africa, said they were driven to create a better world for pets and end pet homelessness.
“Tackling this issue helps both animals and people – bringing the benefits of the human-animal bond to more people and ensuring every pet has the sustained care and nutrition that they need to thrive.” said Masekela.
Masekela said overall, South Africa scored 4 on the Index’s 10-point scale with 27% of companion animals in the country being homeless.
The index also revealed that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed perceptions of the role of cats and dogs in the home worldwide and after the hard lockdown in March and April 2020, pet ownership has been on the rise in South Africa.
However, even though South Africa’s above-average sterilisation rates help with reproduction control, work is needed to address the high rates of canine rabies, as well as the requirement for more robust national rabies control programmes.
The Index revealed that 49% of South Africans are hesitant to take their pet to the vet due to high costs, compared with the global average of 28%.
In addition, 70% of South Africans believe it’s difficult to own a dog when living in an apartment compared to the global average of 60%.
As for cats, 51% of the country’s respondents agree that apartment-living is not suitable compared to the global average of 45%.
“Science tells us that pet ownership brings a multitude of benefits to our health and well-being: from improving our heart health and physical activity to building empathy, aiding development, and strengthening our sense of community. We believe pets deserve more and tackling the issue is central to our purpose of creating a world where they are healthy, happy, and welcome,” added Masekela.