Companion animal economics: the economic impact of companion animals in the UK

The aim of this report is to raise awareness of the importance of researchconcerning the economic impact of companion animals on society.• This report was inspired by the seminal Council for Science and Society(CSS) report Companion Animals in Society (1988), and updates andextends its evaluation of the value that companion animals bring tosociety.• Data available from the UK are used as examples throughout, but manyof the points raised relate to industrialized nations globally.• It highlights potential direct and indirect costs and benefits of companionanimals to the economy, and the value of exploring these further.• There is currently a lack of high quality data for some aspects of thisevaluation which needs to be addressed to enable a more confident analysis;however, given the scale of the potential impact (added economicvalue and savings possible) the matter should not be ignored for thisreason.• When evaluating the contribution of companion animals to the UKeconomy both positive and negative aspects should be considered.• Employing a conservative version of methods used in the best study ofits kind to date examining healthcare savings through reduced numberof doctor visits, we estimate that pet ownership in the UK may reduce useof the National Health Service (NHS) to the value of 2.45 billion pounds/year.• The cost of NHS treatment for bites and strikes from dogs is estimatedas 33 million pounds/year (i.e. approximately 0.1% of the health savings).• We conclude that research into companion animals that relates totheir potential economic impact on society should be supported bygovernment.