PET POPULATION 2011
Find out here how many dogs and cats there are in the UK. Also find out about the percentage of other commonly owned pets in the UK.
DOGS
How many dogs are there in the UK?
In 2011, the UK dog population is around 8 million.
In 2008 this could be broken down into 75% pedigree, 11% Cross Breeds and 14% Mixed Breeds.
There are 209 breeds of dog recognised by the Kennel Club. To view the top 10 dog breeds in the UK please
click here.
In 2008 the main source in which owners aquire their dogs are:
Rescue Centre: 32%Friend/acquiantance: 25%
Recommended Breeder: 16%
Private Ad: 16%
Internet: 8%
Pet Shop: 7%
To view more on ownership trends please click here.
CATS
How many cats are they in the UK?
In 2011 the UK Cat population is around 8 million
In 2008 92% of cats are moggies or 'non pedigree'
There are around 35-40 breeds of cat recognised by the Feline Advisory Bureau.
In 2008 the main reasons people keep cats as pets are for:
Companionship: 27% Love: 31%
Easy maintainance: 7%
Gets on with other species: 3%
To view more on pet ownership trends click here.
PET OWNING HOUSEHOLDS 2011
In the UK, almost 1 in 2 households own a pet
(46% = 12M), with around a total 22 million pets owned (excluding fish).
In 2011 the percentage of households owning a pet in the UK were broken down as follows;
Dog: 22%
Cat: 18%
Indoor Fish: 9%
Outdoor Fish: 6%
Rabbits: 2.7%
Indoor Birds: 2%
Guinea Pigs: 1.5%
Hamster: 1.4% Domestic Fowl: 0.6%
Horses/Ponies: 0.2%
Tortoises/turtles: 0.6%
Gerbils: 0.1%
Snakes: 0.4%
Lizards: 0.6%
Rats: 0.4%
Research Details:
Research conducted by TNS
Face- to - face interviews
Representative sample of the UK population
2011
2,022 interviews completed
Weighted to be representative of all households
2010
4,164 interviews completed
Weighted to be representative of all households
2007/8
1,039 interviews completed
Further 2,037 (totalling 3,076) sample for cat and dog populations in UK
Weighted to be representative of all households