Expert comment: How to be a sustainability-friendly pet owner

With over a third of households in the UK caring for a pet, making sustainable choices as a pet owner can go a long way towards helping to keep them and the planet healthy. But it’s not always easy to know what to do or where to start. Here are five simple steps that you can take to embrace sustainable pet care, without costing the earth. 

• Ask your vet: seeking advice from your vet is a great place to start in your journey towards more sustainable pet ownership. They can help you balance the health needs of your pet alongside the sustainable changes that you might want to make, helping you decide which pet breeds will best suit your lifestyle, and locate responsible breeders or rehoming centres. 

• Follow your vet’s advice when using medicines: some medicines such as flea and worming treatments can have potential negative effects on biodiversity, insects and birds. There are simple steps you can take to reduce these impacts such as returning unused medicines and medicine packaging to your vet to ensure these don’t end up in landfill, avoid letting your pet swim in rivers if they have recently been treated with a topical flea treatment, and be sure to pick up and dispose of dog poo, as improper disposal of pet waste can also have environmental consequences. 

• Explore planet-friendly pet food options in consultation with your vet: there are plenty of sustainable choices you can make when it comes to feeding your pet, such as feeding dry food rather than wet food, looking out for recyclable packaging, reducing food waste, avoiding overfeeding, considering vegetarian diets and exploring novel protein diets such as insect protein and cell-cultured meat. This is, however, a complex area and therefore it is worth discussing with your vet to ensure your pet is getting the nutrition that they need.   

• Tread quietly in the countryside to avoid disturbing livestock and wildlife: stick to the footpaths, keep dogs on a lead when signposted to do so add a bell to your cat’s collar to help wildlife know they are coming. 

• Choose eco-friendly, recycled and biodegradable toys: or even better – get creative and make your own, a rolled-up ball of foil can keep your cat entertained for hours!