How our furry friends might impact planet Earth

Pets have always been by our sides for hundreds of years, offering us hoomans pure unconditional love and support.

Pets have always been by our sides for hundreds of years, offering us hoomans pure unconditional love and support. Can you imagine though, that something as pure as our beloved pets can also cause impacts on the environment, just like humans do?!

 

59% of the Asian population have pets in their household. Giving them love and affection happens naturally, especially when they’re more like a member of our family, rather than an animal. If we could, we’d love to provide the best of the best for our lovable pets. Whether it be high-grade premium food, new must have toys, or cool outfits for our little fashionistas. But these mentioned items might cause an impact on the environment in the way you’d never expect.

Professor Gregory Okin, a geography professor at the University of California told us that meat-eating by dogs and cats create 64 million tons of carbon dioxide a year. It has the same climate impact as a year’s worth of 13.6 million cars driven. It also supports the fact that industrial meat production causes the most greenhouse gasses or around 18% of our atmosphere.

Eating is of course necessary, but the consequence of that is excretion (which is also absolutely necessary). Pets’ feces mostly ends up in a landfill. Dogs' and cats' poop contains bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can transfer diseases to humans and to nature for years. Cat litter clumps are not disposable. A yearly use of doggie poop bags are at least 700 bags (Estimated two poop bags per dog per day).

 

It’s definitely impossible for us pet lovers to stop caring for our beloved pet babies. What we can do, however, is to look after our pets and take care of them in a way that’s more environmentally friendly for our earth. Let’s take a look at what we can do!

 

Food Adjustment ?

Look for alternative food or treats that your pets can still enjoy, that are friendly for the environment. Whether it’s adding fruits and vegetables to your dog's food or consider giving them insect-based protein that has a more environmentally friendly effect on the planet. Please do keep in mind that all pets require a complete and balanced diet!

 

Deal with waste ?

The most important thing is not to flush dogs' poop or cat litter because it can contaminate the water resources. What you should do is keep their waste in disposable bags and dump it in waste-only trash, so it will not mix in with other types of trash.

 

Toys and accessories ?

Having some toys is always good for our pets' physical and mental health! We might not need to purchase new items on every single special occasion though!. Replace new toys by showing your fur babies love in a different way. Spending more time with your pets, taking them outside to explore and get some exercise, that will make them so over the moon happy!

 

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?? MyFriend, your pet's app. Where pet parents can find all services and content to take better care of their best friends!

References

• https://ideas.ted.com/the-environmental-impact-of-dogs-and-cats-and-how-to-reduce-it/
• https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/the-truth-about-cats-and-dogs-environmental-impact
• https://biomarketinsights.com/three-ways-the-pet-food-industry-is-going-green/
• https://davidsuzuki.org/living-green/food-climate-change/
• https://www.leafscore.com/eco-friendly-pet-products/pet-waste-is-bad-for-environment-heres-what-you-can-do/
• https://askmycats.com/is-cat-litter-bad-for-the-environment/