Planet-friendly Pets: CARBON PAWPRINT TIPS!

The impact of our pets on rising emissions and climate breakdown has been a bit of a taboo topic. It's understandable if campaigners are wary of raising a topic that threatens the deep bonds between many people and their pets.

But with the great majority of citizens around the world feeling concern for the future, and wanting stronger action, it seems sensible to grasp this nettle. Solid research and information helps us all to reduce the emissions caused by pets and reduce any guilt pet owners may feel.

Questions about this are increasingly being raised in Climate Action Newcastle discussions, so we're grateful for this Info Pack that gathers together research by our volunteers. If you've got advice to share - we'd love you to get in touch, via contact@climateactionnewcastle.com

DECIDING TO HAVE A PET

There are many factors to weigh up when considering a pet. For anyone who cares about our planet and our future, sustainability is always one factor to include.

• For a cat, this may include the statistics on the plummeting populations of birds and small mammals. The contribution of cats is such that some campaign groups urge that cats should be "indoor" pets.

• For many pets, the possibility of adopting an abandoned animal, bird or fish helps avoid the great impact from bringing a new creature into existence. Such "consumerism", when there are many creatures in rescue centres, is an unnecessary burden on the planet's resources.

PET FOOD

Your choice on what to feed to pets is likely to be the biggest single part of its carbon footprint. This is a controversial issue, with claims and differing results from scientific studies. With huge profits at stake, it's important not to be swayed by commercially-driven advice.

Just like people, animal species need certain nutrients, not certain ingredients. Here are some articles on nutritional considerations.

•  Cats (and ferrets) need an amino acid called taurine in their diet. There has been a meat-free source of taurine for years now, so vegan cat food can be "nutritionally complete" (always check exact product on website).

• Prof Andrew Knight's study, showing vegan diets are healthiest for dogs https://dogsgo-plantbased.co.uk/2024/09/09/prof-knights-studies-show-that-vegan-diets-are-the-healthiest-for-dogs/

• xxx https://www.andrewknight.info/articles/pet-food/

• This website includes comments from vets: https://sustainablepetfood.info/  

If your concern is where to find supplies without meat or fish, here are some recommendations:

• https://justbekind.co.uk/   (vet recommended, scroll down for advice on transitioning to vegan diet)

• https://www.veggiepets.com/ (sells lots of different brands)

• https://www.benevo.com/

• https://dogslovehownd.com/

• https://herbiewilde.co.uk/

• https://www.v-dog.co.uk/

• https://www.bonza.dog/

• Some brands can be bought from online retailers such as https://alternativestores.com/ and Amazon.

• The brand "V-Dog" has been going since 1980 so the environmental impact of pet food is not a new problem.

Some countries have sold legalised lab-grown meat for pet food for several years, and it was recently introduced to the UK. Coverage here.

And the carbon footprint advice website Giki recommends we consider insect-based food, which can reduce your pets' carbon footprint by 90%. https://zero.giki.earth/actions/switch-to-insect-pet-food

DOG POO BAGS 

There's no need to buy single-use plastic bags. Compostable dog poo bags can be bought from supermarkets. These include:

• Tesco - link here

• Asda - link here

• Sainsburys - link here