Demography of the pet dog and cat population on the island of Ireland and human factors influencing pet ownership

Abstract

Published data on aspects of domestic pet demographics are available in many countries. Several of these studies have linked household demographics, such as the presence of children in the household, to pet ownership. There is very little published information about the demography of domestic pets on the island of Ireland (the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland). This study was conducted to describe the demography of the pet dog and cat populations on the island of Ireland and to identify human factors influencing pet ownership. A questionnaire was designed and administered to households to collect data about the demographics of households and their dogs and cats. The questions related to location, building structure, social class, nationality and family structure of the household, and the sex, age and source of each pet dog and/or cat. The survey was administered by a commercial company, using computer-assisted telephone interview techniques to 1250 households selected using random digit dialling and quota controls. In this study, a pet dog was defined as a dog that was been fed by a household and considered a pet by the participant of the study. A pet cat was defined as a cat that was both fed by the household and allowed into the house. The results show that 35.6% of households in Ireland have one or more pet dogs and 10.4% of households have one or more pet cats. In total, 47.3% of pet dogs and 76.1% of pet cats were neutered. Females of both species are more likely to be neutered than males. Factors associated with dog ownership included location, house type, household social class, household composition, the presence of school children in the house, and the presence of a cat in the house. Factors associated with pet cat ownership included the type of house structure, the presence of a dog in the house and the gender and age of the participant. Cats tend to stray into households. This study was the first to provide detailed information about the demographics of the pet dog and cat populations on the island of Ireland, and has identified areas for further research, in particular the effect of stray dogs and cats on the owned pet dog and cat population, and of future demographic trends in these populations.

Introduction

In the past, veterinary and government interest towards pets in both the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and Northern Ireland (NI) (subsequently referred to as Ireland) was limited to the health and wellbeing of individual animals only. More recently, however, there has been increasing recognition of the positive effect of pets on their owners’ mental and physical wellbeing (Yarnell et al., 2003), the importance of pet-associated problems, such as bite injuries (O'Sullivan et al., 2008), pollution and zoonotic disease (Stirling et al., 2008). There is considerable international research about the human–animal bond and its effect on human health (Beck and Meyers, 1996, Virues-Ortega and Buela-Casal, 2006, Cutt et al., 2007, Shuler et al., 2008, Knight and Edwards, 2008). The interest of both the Irish government and veterinary organisations in Ireland, on the control and regulation of pets, especially dogs, has been heightened with increasing contact between pets and people.

Published data on aspects of domestic pet demographics are available from several countries, including Australia (Baldock et al., 2003), the USA (Nassar et al., 1984, Patronek et al., 1997, AVMA, 2007), Canada (Leslie et al., 1994), Italy (Slater et al., 2008b), Brazil (Serafini et al., 2008) and Zimbabwe (Butler and Bingham, 2000). These studies were conducted using a range of methodologies, including telephone interviews, both locally (Serafini et al., 2008, Slater et al., 2008b) and nationally (Baldock et al., 2003, AVMA, 2007), and mailed surveys (Leslie et al., 1994). Butler and Bingham (2000) used dog population pyramids to illustrate the age distribution of dogs in the population, as did Baldock et al. (2003) to present the age distribution of cats in Australia. In the USA, it was reported that 37.2% and 32.4% of households own at least one dog and one cat, respectively (AVMA, 2007). In several studies, from Australia (Baldock et al., 2003), the USA (Nassar and Mosier, 1980) and Canada (Leslie et al., 1994), pet ownership has been linked to household demographics, including the presence of children in the household.

There is very little published information about the demography of domestic pets on the island of Ireland. Most is limited to ongoing market research for use by the pet food industry (Mintel Reports Academic, 2004), although some data are available from animal welfare groups (ISPCA, 2008). These data represent an interesting picture of the Irish pet population: market research has suggested a decline in pet population during 1998–2004 (Mintel Reports Academic, 2004), whereas animal welfare groups have highlighted a consistent problem of overpopulation (ISPCA, 2008).

In the literature, many demographic studies have underpinned programmes to manage pets (dogs in particular) with respect to the control of disease, including rabies (Butler and Bingham, 2000, Matter et al., 2000). Others have used demographic studies to predict the usage of veterinary services (Leslie et al., 1994, Matter et al., 2000, McGreevy et al., 2002) and future pet population trends (Baldock et al., 2003). With this in mind, the aim of this study was to describe the demography of the pet population in Ireland, and to identify human factors influencing pet ownership.