Wet pet food is eight times worse for the environment

Swapping the sort of food your dog eats could cut its impact on the climate dramatically, new research has shown.

- HARRY COCKBURN

As the population of domesticated cats and dogs grows across the world, scientists are suggesting that changing habits could lower the carbon footprints of pets.

Currently, the USA is estimated to have 76.8 million dogs and 58.4 million cats, while Brazil has 52.2 million dogs and China has 53.1 million cats. In the UK there are almost 13 million households with dogs and just over 12 million with cats. In total, 52 per cent of UK adults own a pet, according to the pet charity PDSA.

While the toll taken on the environment by pets is tiny, compared to the scale of devastation wrought by nondomesticated farmed animals, all our pets still require food mostly meat-based but the full environmental impact of pets on the planet remains opaque.