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National Pet Census Reveals A Population Of Pampered Pets

Author: The Blue Cross
Posted: Monday 4th December, 2006. 00:00:00

British pet owners spend over £5 billion on their pets every year, suggests the results of the nation’s only Pet Census survey, published today by The Blue Cross charity.

The survey reveals that men spend more, £244, on their pets a year than women, and are more likely, 46 per cent, than women to own pedigree animals. Owners in East Anglia spend less, £197, than the national average on their pets every year, while respondents in Scotland and Wales spend more.

Women are more likely to shower their pets with love and attention. Of those surveyed, an adult female in the family unit is twice more likely than their male counterpart to be the pet’s main care giver and a third of single females allow their pets to sleep in their bedrooms, as opposed to only 18 per cent of men.

The survey indicated that just under half, 48 per cent, of the UK population own a pet and that the biggest problem people face with ownership is that it requires more responsibility than they expected.

The Blue Cross Pet Census is the only national survey of its kind and is compiled by the pet charity as part of its ongoing work to understand the relationships people have with their pets. The data provides essential national and regional information on issues including ownership trends, animal welfare, attitudes to pet ownership and the relationship between pets and their people.



Research was carried out on behalf of the charity by BMRB in July 2006. A nationally representative sample of 5,999 adults aged 16+ was interviewed via the telephone omnibus. The resulting data was weighed to ensure that demographic profiles match those of all adults in Great Britain aged 16yrs and over.

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