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Pet Facts and Figures

Household pet ownership, January 2006 (source Mintel)

The figures seem to indicate that approximately half the population of the UK have at least one pet, but interesting are the reasons given against owning a pet:

Dogs

In 2004, the UK dog population was 6.8 million, broken down as follows:
Giant 3.7%
Large 21.4%
Medium 41.2%
Small 23.6%
Toy 10%

The top 3 dog breeds in the UK are:

1. Mongrel at 23.1%
2. Collie at 7.8%
3. Labrador at 6.5%

Direct Line Pet Name Top Ten Names:

The highest levels of dog ownership are among the 45 to 54 year-old age group - around 30%

21% of households with dogs have more than one

It is estimated that the dog population of the UK produces 900 tonnes of faeces every day, and over a ten-year lifetime, a dog can produce up to half a ton of faeces

Cats

In 2004 the UK Cat population was 9.58 million, with 18% of households owning at least one cat. With increasingly better care being provided to cats (and more generally, to pets) throughout the country, senior cats now represent about two-thirds of the population. In fact a cat’s life span is now typically 12-15 years, with a growing proportionreaching 15 and beyond.

92% of cats are moggies or 'non pedigree'

Direct Line Pet Name Top Ten Names

Rabbits

It is estimated that there are between 1.6 and 2 million pet rabbits in the UK.

In 2004, 4.6% of UK households owned a rabbit

There are 67 breeds and 531 varieties of rabbit. The smallest breed is the Netherland Dwarf Rabbit, weighing just 1kg when fully grown, and one of the largest is the Flemish Giant Rabbit, which weighs up to 6kg.

Rabbits usually live to about seven or eight years old, but many live over 10 years

A rabbit chews 120 times a minute and has 17,000 tastebuds. That's 7,000 more than humans and 15,000 more than dogs

Litters usually contain between six and eight kittens. However, the largest litter ever recorded had 24 kittens

Pet names are being influenced by celebrity figures across TV, film and sport. Lord of the Rings characters have also become popular, with nearly 500 pets named Pippin and over 100 Gandalf insured with Direct Line alone.

Other pets with celebrity names insured with Direct Line include six Dumbledore's, four Harry Potter's, four Beyonce's, two Miriah's and fifteen Whitney's. Naming our pets after celebrities is a growing trend and the Direct Line research has thrown up some interesting results – from the Great Dane named Gandalf The Great, to the moggy called 50 Cent

In 2004, the percentage of animal owning households in the UK were broken down as
follows:

Cats 24.6%
Dogs 21.1%
Goldfish 8.2%
Fish in Ponds 6.9%
Rabbits 4.6%
Tropical Fish 3.9%
Budgerigars 2.8%
Hamsters 2.5%
Other Caged Birds 2.1%
Guinea Pigs 1.8%
Other Fish in Aquariums 1.5%
Other Rodents (mice & Rats) 1.5%
Animals in Terrariums eg: Terrapins, Turtles, Snakes 1%
Parrots 1%
Horses/Ponies 0.9%
Canaries 0.8%
Finches 0.5%

How our pet ownership affects the way food companies target pet lovers

Total retail value sales for pet food and pet care products in the UK approached £2.6 billion in 2006 per Euromonitor International's latest research. This represents growth of more than 5% from the previous year.

With pet anthropomorphism gathering pace in the UK, manufacturers are increasingly able to persuade pet owners to trade up to the super-premium and premium products that have driven value sales growth in recent years. Consumers are driving this demand as they are increasingly aware of their pet's nutritional requirements.

In the UK, value sales for premium dog and cat food grew 9.2% during 2006 to £655 million. This growth has been driven by a raft of new health focused multi-functional foods aimed at weight management and improving pets' paws, claws, eyes, coats, skin, teeth, digestive health, and brain power. Key terms appearing on packaging have included omega 3 & 6, macro-nutrient profile, wheat and gluten free, and hypoallergenic.

2006 also saw significant innovation for pet life-stage and life-style products. Greater UK consumer interest for such products proved especially beneficial to Masterfoods' Whiskas cat food brand, which increased its share of total premium dog and cat food nearly 2 percentage points to claim 19.4% of value sales according to Euromonitor International research.

source: PFMA, Euromonitor, Direct Line insurance

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