There are an estimated 411 millionowned pets in the United States.
The Pet Products Industry: Pets and the Economy
The pet products industry has grown continuously since 1994, the first year it was measured, despite changes in the economy. The pet care industry is the second highest-growth industry after consumer electronics. Spending in 2008 rose to $43.2 billion, from $41.2 billion in 2007.
Interesting Facts:
$3 billion spent on pet grooming and kenneling annually in the U.S.
$11 billion combined revenue of the top 175 pet food manufacturers.
$45 million annual pet industry sales in India
$9.5 billion annual pet industry sales in Japan
Brazil is the fastest growing pet market in the world, and is expected to be second only to the U.S. in annual sales within the next couple of years. Currently the U.S. pet market is the largest with Japan second and Brazil running a close third and expected to overtake Japan in the very near future.
Pet Owners
88% of Pet Owners consider their animals members of the family.
As of November 2007, the last time statistics were available, 25% of pet owners provided for their pets in a legal document, such as a Pet Protection Agreement, Pet Trust or Will.
Homes with Animals
There were 56 million households with pets in 1988. 20 years later that number had risen to an astounding 71.4 million and there is no end in sight as the trend continues upward.
Pet Households by Type of Animal
72% of homes have dogs while cats live in 47%of homes. 12%of homes have fish (tropical fish, goldfish etc.), birds (canaries, parrots, parakeets—any type of bird) live in 6% of homes while horses and ponies are only owned by 2%. Various other pets are found in 3% of households.
Numbers of Animals in Each Household
35% of pet households that have only one pet, 25% have two, 13% have three, 7% have four, 6% have five and 13% of pet households have six or more pets.
Number of Dogs for Each Owner
63% of dog owners own one dog, 25% own two dogs and 12% own three or more dogs.
Interesting Facts:
Pet Owners: 54% have a post-graduate education 66% have at least a high school degree.
Two out of three gays and lesbians were estimated to have a pet in 2003.
67% of Whites, 68% of Hispanics and 35% of African Americans own pets.
18% of pet households have 5 or more pets.
Dogs: 63% of dog owners have 1 dog
37% have 2 or more dogs.
75% of pet dogs are spayed or neutered.
Cats: 56% of cat owners own 2 or more cats.
87% of owned cats are spayed or neutered.
Pets and the Elder Population
Senior adults are filling their homes with companion animals in record numbers.
Number of Pets in Each Senior Adult Household
42% of seniors who are Pet Owners have one pet, 29% have two, 16% have three, 1% has four, 2% have five and 10% of Pet Owning seniors have six or more. 67% of senior Pet Owners allow their pets to sleep with them.
Interesting Facts:
52% of adults 62 and over have at least one pet.[20]
31% of pet owners 62 and over have cooked for their pet.[21]
29% of retirement facilities routinely allow pets.[22]
25% of retired people own pets.[23]
Shelters
The number of animals surrendered to New York City’s main animal shelter, Animal Care and Control, increased across by 9.4% in the first half of 2008 compared to the same months in 2007. And while intakes increased, 57% of shelters and rescue groups across the country noted a decline in adoptions in 2009.[24]
Numbers Everyone Needs to Know:
25% of animals in shelters nationwide are purebred[25]
6-8 million pets enter shelters each year. [26]
50% of shelter animals are euthanized[27]
3-4 million animals are euthanized in shelters annually[28]
500,000: Approximate number of pets euthanized annually simply because their owners die without providing for their care[29]
The Veterinary Industry
Use of medications for companion animals rose about 20% from 1996-2006.[30] Pet health insurance has gone mainstream—to the tune of $270 million per year. [31]
In 2007, the market for pet medications in the United States was $5 billion.[32] This is projected to increase by over 60% to $8.6 billion by 2012.[33]
Animal Law
Over the past 10 years increasing numbers of students have shown an interest in animal law and more law schools are accommodating the demand. More dogs are getting their day in court and their lawyers are not being laughed out of court as they were in the 80’s.
In 2000 only nine American Bar Association-approved law schools offered animal law as part of their curriculum. By 2008 that number had risen to 89 (of 196).[34] As of the time of this writing, the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund has 141 chapters in North American law schools.[35]
The relationship between animals and humans is being further defined through legal means. LegalZoom, a company that provides boilerplate documents to the public, now offers Pet Protection Agreements,[36] pet sitting agreements, dog walking contracts and rental agreements for apartments that allow pets.
Conclusion
Societal attitudes and mindsets are maturing and evolving—culture and economics are following along. In less than a generation, animals have become “members of the family.” The amount people spend annually in the United States is increasing dramatically, regardless of the downturn in the economy. This trend is being repeated in India, Japan, and around the world.
As the corporate world becomes aware of this spending, more and more pet related products and services are appearing on the market. In order to appeal to the concerns of Pet Owners, the pet product industry is producing environmentally sensitive and value driven products to consumers.
The Harris Poll® #120, December 4, 2007