The cost of looking after a pet in Britain has risen by more than twice following which the dog rehoming charities in the country have been experiencing “unprecedented demand”.
Record numbers of British people have been giving up their animals. At the same time, the rising cost of dog-food, and vet care is also reducing the pool of potential adopters.
London-headquartered Dogs Trust told The Times newspaper that the charity received over 45,000 requests from pet parents giving up their canine babies. This translates into 125 requests in a day.
Owen Sharp, chief executive of Dogs Trust told the newspaper: “The demand for us to take in dogs is outstripping our ability to meet it at the moment, so we have waiting lists. There is a direct correlation between people struggling to afford to have their dogs and the numbers wanting to give them up.”
The charity reportedly commissioned Capital Economics to calculate the rate of inflation that dog owners face.
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It found a “dogflation” rate of 9 per cent, against 4 per cent inflation generally.
Sharp told The Times: “You hear things such as manufacturing costs are higher or raw-material costs are higher but you wouldn’t really expect them to be disproportionately higher than the production of human food,” he said. “So is there an issue going on in retail? I don’t know. There’s a lack of transparency around it, and I don’t feel it’s getting enough focus at the moment.”
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Dog owners reportedly comprise a third of UK households. They are now disproportionately hit by dogflation.
Sharp further added: “We desperately need the government to step up and play its part for this country’s 12 million dogs and their owners, by cutting the 20 per cent VAT [Value Added Tax] on pet food, at least for the time being.”
(With inputs from agencies)
