Companion Animal Economics: The Economic Impact of Companion Animals in the UK

By Sophie S Hall, Luke Dolling, Katie Bristow and 2 more

Succinct, highly readable and thought provoking, this important new text is designed to raise awareness of the potential economic impact of companion animals in the UK. It discusses the potential benefits and costs of companion animals to the economy and highlights the need for this matter to be thoroughly researched, given the potential scale of impact and the potential costs of ignoring this matter. The book includes:

- case studies to illustrate the savings to the NHS that might be associated with companion animal ownership;
- links to up-to-date tables and content that might form templates for use in other countries; and
- highly readable information written by expert authors and key opinion leaders in the field.

Inspired by the seminal Council for Science and Society (CSS) Report, Companion Animals in Society (1988), this work updates and extends its evaluation of the economic impact of companion animals on society and lays a benchmark for future development. This pivotal new book is important for policy makers at national and international levels and all those involved in animal welfare.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CAB International
• Release date: Dec 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781786391742

Book preview

Companion Animal Economics

The Economic Impact of Companion Animals in the UK

Research Report

Companion Animal Economics

The Economic Impact of Companion Animals in the UK

Research Report

Sophie Hall,¹ Luke Dolling,² Katie Bristow,³ Ted Fuller² and Daniel Mills¹

¹School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, UK

²Lincoln Business School, University of Lincoln, UK

³Dogs for Good, Banbury, UK

CABI is a trading name of CAB International

© S. Hall, L. Dolling, K. Bristow, T. Fuller and D.S. Mills 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronically, mechanically, by photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library, London, UK.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hall, Sophie (Sophie Susannah), author. | Dolling, Luke, author. | Bristow, Katie, author. | Fuller, Ted (Professor of entrepreneurship and strategic foresight), author. | Mills, D. S., author. | C.A.B. International, publisher.

Title: Companion animal economics : the economic impact of companion animals in the UK : research report / Sophie Hall, Luke Dolling, Katie Bristow, Ted Fuller, Daniel Mills.

Description: Wallingford, Oxfordshire ; Boston, MA : CABI, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016041649 (print) | LCCN 2016043081 (ebook) | ISBN 9781786391728 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781786391735 (pdf) | ISBN 9781786391742 (ePub)

Subjects: | MESH: Bonding, Human-Pet | Pets--economics | Pets--psychology | Health | Great Britain

Classification: LCC SF411.36.G7 (print) | LCC SF411.36.G7 (ebook) | NLM WM 460.5.B7 | DDC 636.088/70941--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016041649

ISBN-13: 978 1 78639 172 8

Commissioning editor: Caroline Makepeace

Associate editor: Alexandra Lainsbury

Production editor: Tracy Head

Typeset by SPi, Pondicherry, India.

Printed and bound by Gutenberg Press Ltd, Tarxien, Malta.

Contents

Foreword

Executive Summary

1 Introduction

2 Methodology

Techniques Revisited and Updated

Technique for Data-mining Public Information

Health Literature

General health

Physical activity and healthy bodyweight management

Cardiovascular health

Allergies and asthma

Mental health

Reliability of Information

3 Key Features of the Council for Science and Society (CSS) Report

Indicators of the Extent and Economic Significance of the Pet-keeping Phenomenon in 1988

Perceived Benefits of ‘Pet Ownership’ in 1988

Problems Associated with Pet Ownership in 1988

Concluding Statements of the 1988 CSS Report

4 Updates on the Economic Impact of Companion Animals to the UK

Consideration of the Benefits and Costs of Companion Animals to the UK

Animal abandonment

Urine

Diseases

Accidents

Companion Animal Population Statistics: Current Estimates

Pet Food

The ‘Pet Shop’: the Evolution of Allied Industries in the Companion Animal Care Sector

Companion Animal-related Services: Shifting Dynamics of Services

Companion Animal Health: Parallels with Human Health

5 Indirect Costs: Extending the Scope of Economic Value

5A Human Health and Well-being

Recovery from Major Illness

Prevention of Ill-health

Physical Well-being: Passive versus Active Ownership – Enhanced Physical Exercise

Social Well-being: Enhanced Social Contacts/Interactions

Mental Well-being: Elevating Mood and Increasing Mental Resilience

Fewer Visits to the Doctor

Economic Impact: A Preliminary Estimation

Possible Contribution to UK Healthcare Expenditure Savings

Step 1: UK healthcare expenditure

Step 2: Population estimates

Step 3: Doctor visits

Step 4: Health expenditure savings

5B Further Value – Animal-assisted Interventions and the Wider Support of Individuals with Increased Need in Society

Animal-assisted Interventions

Assistance Dogs

Classroom Dogs

Recognizing the Value of such Programmes

Developing a Case for Economic Benefit

6 Conclusion: Illustrating the Perceived Economic Impact of Companion Animals

Acknowledgement

Afterword

References

Index

This book is enhanced with supplementary resources. To access the Appendix Tables, please visit: www.cabi.org/openresources/91728.

Foreword

The relationship between people and pets is a unique bond that has endured over many centuries. Almost half of households in the UK share their homes with animals cared for as companions; a relationship we consider to be valuable, enriching, mutually beneficial and fun. Because we share our lives with companion animals in such close proximity, we each impact the other. Increasingly, scientific evidence suggests that companion animals bring social, health and economic benefits to individuals and society.

This report was inspired by the seminal Council for Science and Society report Companion Animals in Society, published in 1988, which provided a clear view of the role of companion animals in Britain, including an exploration of the economic impact of pets. The world has changed since the late eighties: we now have an increasingly urban and aged population, with smaller and more fragmented families. Despite this, relatively little information on the economic impact of pets has been published since 1988. This important report provides a modern day update and, without reducing the discussion to a simplistic cost:benefit ratio, it includes new data from the myriad of ways in which companion animals contribute to our society in the UK, as well as some of the costs they bring.

This report aims to raise awareness of the important need for research to evaluate the complex routes by which pets make an economic impact on UK society. It aims to dispel the myth that pets are a luxury and to increase awareness of the social, economic and health value of pets to society so that better informed debate and decisions can be made for the benefit of people and pets.

Dr Sandra McCune

WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition

Leicestershire, UK

Executive Summary

•The aim of this report is to raise awareness of the importance of research concerning 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 and extends its evaluation of the value that companion animals bring to society.

•Data available from the UK are used as examples throughout, but many of the points raised relate to industrialized nations globally.

•It highlights potential direct and indirect costs and benefits of companion animals to the economy, and the value of exploring these further.

•There is currently a lack of high quality data for some aspects of this evaluation which needs to be addressed to enable a more confident analysis; however, given the scale of the potential impact (added economic value and savings possible) the matter should not be ignored for this reason.

•When evaluating the contribution of companion animals to the UK economy both positive and negative aspects should be considered.

•Employing a conservative version of methods used in the best study of its kind to date examining healthcare savings through reduced number of doctor visits, we estimate that pet ownership in the UK may reduce use of the National Health Service (NHS) to the value of £2.45 billion/year.

•The cost of NHS treatment for bites and strikes from dogs is estimated as £3 million/year (i.e. approximately 0.1% of the health savings).

•We conclude that research into companion animals that relates to their potential economic impact on society should be supported by government.

Introduction 1

The UK is renowned as being a nation of animal lovers, with an estimated 12 million (46%) households incorporating about 65 million companion animals into their families (PFMA, 2015). With close proximity comes an opportunity to impact on each other’s health and well-being. More broadly, it reflects a societal impact. The scale of this phenomenon raises the need for insight into the extent to which we share our lives with companion animals, and the nature of the human–animal relationship in