State of Pet Homelessness Project reveals 1 in 3 pets are in need of a home

Pets in need

For anyone who shares their life with a pet, providing the care they need is an important part of the relationship and in return unquestioning love and companionship - and scientifically proven health and social benefits - pets bring. But around the world, there are millions of cats and dogs in shelters, or living on the street without appropriate levels of care and support. In fact, new research released as part of the State of Pet Homelessness Project compiled across 20 countries shows that, for every two pets with a home, there is one without – with an estimated 362 million homeless cats and dogs.

Digging into the data

The project is the largest ever study into the factors contributing towards companion animals being homeless and was launched by Mars in partnership with a global coalition of leading animal welfare experts. Including data from over 900 global and local sources, along with 30,000 public surveys and 200 expert interviews, the project builds a picture of pet homelessness across Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, New Zealand, The Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, the U.S., and the U.K.

The ambition of the project is to drive more informed and targeted action to help reduce homelessness and ensure pets get the care they need.

Loïc Moutault, Global President Mars Petcare said: “Big and small actions can make a difference, from considering adopting a pet at the individual level, to changes that mean more rental accommodations allow pets. We are setting out to support 30 million vulnerable pets over the next five years and hope this data will allow us - and others - to make interventions that make a big difference.”

Insights to drive action

While each country has different challenges, the data also reveals several common themes across the twenty countries:

Almost 1 in 5 people that are considering giving up their cat or dog in the near future say it’s because they are moving and cannot take their pet with them.
Almost half of people surveyed said they have lost a pet in the past, and almost 60% of those were never found by their owners.
Globally, pet owners report that only ~50% of owned dogs and ~60% cats are sterilized, meaning the remainder, if allowed to reproduce unchecked, result in unplanned litters, exacerbating the problem.

At Mars, we have worked for many years to play our part in tackling pet homelessness issues around the world, with a wide range of programs, partnerships and donations to support vulnerable pets. The State of Pet Homelessness Project will allow us, and others, to focus our efforts where they are most needed to get more pets the sustained care they need to thrive. To mark the release of this data, Mars has made a $500,000 donation to Humane Society International to fund projects in India, South Africa and Mexico to make interventions informed by the data. These programs will deliver reproduction control, training and interventions for thousands of animals living without the care they need.

To find out more, visit www.stateofpethomelessness.com.