How can you reduce your pet's eco paw-print?
Maybe we should keep smaller pets.
Australians are increasingly identifying their pets as family members and spending more and more on much-loved companion animals each year. The average dog now costs $1500 a year to feed, the average cat, $1000 a year.
Research tells us that in the United States. But is it ethical to kill one animal to feed another one? What should we feed our pets when food production generates millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases and millions of humans are undernourished? Can we reduce our pets鈥� eco paw-print and care for our animals ethically?
鈥淎nimal welfare, human wellbeing and environmental sustainability are inextricably linked,鈥� said , companion animal veterinarian and part-time lecturer within the School of Veterinary Science. 鈥淲e know that companion animals are important to us but we can take steps to reduce their paw-print. We can also modify our own diets and lifestyle habits to reduce our carbon footprints 鈥� we have the choice.鈥�
At the , held on 28 August, in the School of Veterinary Science, a panel of experts offered some practical tips for animal lovers.
Consider adopting a pet from a shelter.
Adopt a pet
鈥淎dopt animals from shelters, pounds and rescue organisations, and adopt from local sources where possible,鈥� said Dr Fawcett. 鈥淎nd choose a breed that is appropriate for the climate. Some dogs can overheat and may need air-conditioning. Make sure your non-breeding animals, especially cats, are desexed at an early age to reduce the population of unwanted and stray animals.鈥�
Animals do not need to be fed three times a day.
Don鈥檛 overfeed your pets
鈥淥verfeeding your companion animal can lead to waste and obesity so don鈥檛 overfeed your pet,鈥� said , a nutritional ecologist at the University of Sydney 鈥淭his is a win for the environment, the animal鈥檚 health and the family budget. Food production is the major contributor to environmental degradation on this planet. Choose foods that are by-products of the human food industry, rather than premium ingredients which expand the number of livestock killed for food.鈥�
Cats are carnivores and cannot eat a vegan diet.聽
Avoid vegan diets
As humans attempt to reduce their meat consumption, it may be tempting to offer your dog or cat an exclusively vegan diet. Don鈥檛 do this. Cats are carnivores and need to eat meat. Dogs are omnivores and can eat some vegetables but cannot be exclusively vegan.
鈥淲e need to meet their nutritional needs and a vegan diet is just not appropriate for cats or dogs,鈥� said with specialist qualifications in feline medicine. 鈥淚 think it's a potential welfare issue - and ethical issue - is it right for us to withhold meat from the diet of a natural carnivore?鈥�
Ask your vet what you should feed your animal
鈥淚t is impossible to make a blanket recommendation about what to feed companion animals,鈥� said Dr Fawcett. 鈥淎sk your veterinarian about how you can provide a complete, balanced diet for your pet or seek advice from a specialist veterinary nutritionist. A balanced diet may include fresh meat, bones and or veggies for dogs, but not all individual pets can tolerate all foods so diets need to be tailored."
Dogs are omnivorous but can't survive well on a vegetarian diet.
Choose a smaller pet
Consider choosing a pet that consumes less. This might be a smaller dog or a smaller animal such as a rabbit, rodent or lizard. 鈥淔eeding a rabbit, bird or reptile will have a much smaller impact on the environment than a dog,鈥� said Dr Harvey. 鈥淪ize is important, a 5kg dog will have much less impact than a 60kg dog. But we can鈥檛 just switch from carnivores to herbivores without learning how to care for them and handle them correctly.鈥�
鈥淎 multi-species family is the norm now,鈥� added Dr Fawcett. 鈥淏ut we are the ones with choice and power. Do we need to change their diets? Or do we need to change ours?鈥�
