Pet Facts

The United Kingdom is known world-wide as a pet-loving nation. Over the years, the domestic pet population has not only grown, it has extended to include the more exotic and unusual varieties and species of animals.

In 2013 the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) produced a pet-population report, indicating that the number of animals/pets kept by the great British public had increased in the previous 12-months by over 4 million, to almost 71 million. It is estimated that 13 million (45% of) households, now have one or more pets!

Top Ten Pets for 2013 (based on running totals over two years)

1. Fish kept in tanks: 20 – 25 million (9% of households)
2. Fish kept in ponds: 20 – 25 million (6% of households)
3. Dogs: 8.5 million (25% of households)
4. Cats: 8.5 million (19% of households)
5. Rabbits: 1 million (3% of households)
6. Caged birds: 1 million (1.9% of households)
7. Domestic fowl: 1 million (0.9% of households)
8. Guinea Pigs: Half a million (0.6% of households)
9. Hamsters: Half a million (1.5% of households)
10. Horses and ponies: 400,000 (1.1% of households)

Other popular pets are:

• Lizards (400,000 / 0.9% of households)
• Snakes (300,000 / 0.6% of households)
• Tortoises and Turtles (300,000 / 0.7% of households)
• Frogs and Toads (200,000 / 0.1% of households)
• Pigeons (200,000 / 0.3% of households)
• Newts/Salamanders (200,000 / 0.2% of households)
• Gerbils (100,000 / 0.1% of households)
• Rats, Mice and other Insects were the least popular in their report (100,000 for each / 0.3% of households total)

For more information, please see the PFMA website.