Are pets a "green issue"

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427311.600-how-green-is-your-pet.html

SHOULD owning a great dane make you as much of an eco-outcast as an SUV driver? Yes it should,

As well as guzzling resources, cats and dogs devastate wildlife populations, spread disease and add to pollution. It is time to take eco-stock of our pets.

To measure the ecological paw, claw and fin-prints of the family pet, the Vales analysed the ingredients of common brands of pet food. They calculated, for example, that a medium-sized dog would consume 90 grams of meat and 156 grams of cereals daily in its recommended 300-gram portion of dried dog food. At its pre-dried weight, that equates to 450 grams of fresh meat and 260 grams of cereal. That means that over the course of a year, Fido wolfs down about 164 kilograms of meat and 95 kilograms of cereals.

It takes 43.3 square metres of land to generate 1 kilogram of chicken per year - far more for beef and lamb - and 13.4 square metres to generate a kilogram of cereals. So that gives him a footprint of 0.84 hectares. For a big dog such as a German shepherd, the figure is 1.1 hectare

Macha

Hi blindjustice,

As per the charter, can you please offer your own opinion on the subject?

Thank you.

Shiny

Never thought of it before but if you have large dogs then I assume
that they could technically consume as much as a person if you were
to take into account their food, toys, potentially larger vehicle to
transport them (estate?), etc...

taconnol

taconnol wrote: »

Hi blindjustice,

As per the charter, can you please offer your own opinion on the subject?

Thank you.

To me, a dog owner, its like they are crossing a line.

zagmund

Down with dogs. Down with cats. This planet should be available to be enjoyed by all living and natural things, and we all know dogs and cats aren't . . . oh, hang on.

z

Macha

I may not consider pets to be a green issue in the way David Mackay does but there are definitely concerns around animal welfare in this country.

Our animal shelters are packed full of unwanted pets while people spend €100+ on designer puppies and kittens bred under god knows what circumstances. Also, owners fail to neuter and microchip their pets to reduce unwanted and stray animals - we certainly have enough of them in the world as it is.

time lord

Somtimes I work at our local authority dog shelter. We have a walk in freezer full every month with wheelie bin upon wheelie bin filled with once lovely dogs, There are Akitas, spaniels, mongrels, retreivers, terriers and many more besides.
The population this shelter services is under 70,000 people, yet this shelter puts down nearly as many dogs as the whole of Scotland some years. We dont have a culture or neutering and our tolerance of animal cruelty and neglect is high. The proof is in the outcome. Unwanted dogs by the truckload, literally truck loads of unwanted dead pets leave our shelter every month.
This process is leaving a large carbon footprint.