Six in ten UK households own a pet, with dogs more popular than ever
This is 3% more than in 2021, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA). Bird ownership increased by 25% in a year.
A survey of almost 9,000 UK households confirmed that dogs top the charts with 13 million, a million more than in 2021. Cat population remains stable at 12 million. Far behind cats are indoor birds in third place, followed closely by domestic fowl.
Overall, the proportion of UK households owning a pet has slightly increased this year (62%) compared to 2021 (59%).
“Over recent years we have seen an increase in the pet population, and we are not surprised that many are valuing the joy and companionship that all types of pets bring to our lives”, commented Nicole Paley, PFMA’s Deputy Chief Executive.
This increase was largely due to the pandemic, during which 3.2 million households (11% of the British population) had welcomed a pet into their home.
According to the figures, 34% of households (10 million) own a dog compared to 28% (8.2 million) that own a cat. 1 out of 10 households owns both a cat and a dog.
Nearly 8 out of 10 households with children have a pet, 12% more than in 2021.
Furthermore, there are altogether almost 4 million birds being kept as pets by approximately 1.5 million households in the UK, an increase of almost one quarter on the previous year’s figures.
PFMA’s Top Ten Pets in UK (2022):
1. 13m dogs (34% households)
2. 12m cats (28% households)
3. 1.6m indoor birds (2.9% households)
4. 1.4m domestic fowl (1.4% households)
5. 1m rabbits (2.4% households)
6. 0.9m Guinea pigs (1.3% households)
7. 0.7m pigeons (0.9% households)
8. 0.6m hamsters (1.5% households)
9. 0.6m tortoises and turtles (1.4% households)
10. 0.6m horses and ponies (1.1% households)
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