The number of owned dogs and cats has increased steadily since market research figures were first collected in 1966 (Morgan Research, 1988). In 1966, the total number of dogs in Australia was estimated to be 1.3 million. By 1988 there were an estimated 3.04 million. From 1978 to 1988, the number of dog-owning households increased from 1.74 million to 2.13 million although the number of dogs per household has remained relatively constant. The pattern of ownership for cats has been similar. Morgan Research estimates that there were 1.2 million owned cats in 1966 and 2.9 million in 1988. The number of cat-owning households has increased slightly as has the number of cats per household.
Table 1 summarises the results of the Morgan Research surveys relating dog and cat-owning households to the population as a whole. The surveys estimate that in 1991, 38% of Australian households owned one or more dogs, and 31% owned one or more cats, while 55% of all households own either a dog or a cat.
Clearly pet ownership is not a minority community interest. On numerical criteria alone, we should be looking for ways to better accommodate the needs of pet-owning households in community and residential planning.
But why is pet ownership so popular? For many people the most obvious reason for obtaining a pet is for companionship. People can derive great satisfaction and joy from the relationships they have with their pets. These benefits are easy to understand, however there are important social benefits that are not as well understood.
For children, experience with pets contributes to their development. Pets help them learn responsibility and how to share. Pets show that if affection is given, it will be returned. They also encourage children to exercise.
In their submission to the Victorian Parliament's Inquiry into the Role
and Welfare of Companion Animals in Society, the Royal Guide Dogs Associations
of Australia stated : "The bottom line of pet ownership is that children
learn selfless behaviour because of owning animals."
(Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia, 1987, p7)
Pets help to foster family cohesion. In childless families, they are often surrogates for children.
Pets are just as important for those who live alone providing companionship and promoting conversation with people in the street and at the park. For some, particularly the elderly who live alone, taking a dog out with them might promote the only social contact they have for an entire day.
Another reason why people obtain a dog is for security. Housebreakers will tend to steer clear of houses with dogs. People also tend to feel safer with a dog in the house and when they are walking or jogging in the street.
The elderly face special problems associated with reduction in income, loss of stimulus of work, difficulty in finding new interests and making new friends, loneliness arising from reduced mobility, retirement depression which dampens enthusiasm for regular exercise and threat of bereavement. The permanent loneliness of the widow or widower is a very serious contemporary social issue which will become more prevalent with the ageing of the population. The PIAS has found that with very few exceptions, most elderly people have very close associations with their pets. Yet the prospect of changing accommodation, whether to a smaller dwelling or flat or to a retirement or nursing home, is a disincentive for them to own pets. It is also conceivable that elderly people may defer moving because they think their pet would not be suitable or allowed in more compact or group-style accommodation.
Another benefit of owning pets is their use in therapy. Pets can reduce the heart rate and lower blood pressure. Pets are often suggested as a drug-free way of coping with stress. A recent study by the prestigious Baker Medical Research Institute, Melbourne, showed that pet owners had significantly lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease than did non-owners.
Some 5,471 persons participated in the study that revealed a beneficial effect of pet ownership on several of the classical risk factors for coronary heart disease. Heart related diseases are the biggest cause of death among adults in Australia.
Proof of the therapeutic benefit of pets becomes stronger every day as more studies and case histories become available. The Joint Advisory Committee on Pets in Society (JACOPIS) documented the introduction of a 'pet in residence' at Caulfield Hospital. A former guide dog named 'Honey' was introduced into two long-term care wards which accommodated 60 frail and elderly patients. The study showed that the presence of 'Honey' in these wards had a positive effect on a large number of patients in terms of their emotional well-being.
The Royal Guide Dogs Associations of Australia, in their submission to
the SDC Inquiry stated :
"It is the contention of this Association (supported by scientific
evidence) that companion animals can and do increase the well being of people
in society and help to lower levels of stress. There is medical and scientific
evidence that animals can reduce the heart rate and lower blood pressure.
This is not only the case with dogs but with cats, horses, birds, goldfish
etc...."
(Royal Guide Dogs Association of Australia, 1987, p6-7)
'Pet ownership fits with a strong emerging theme in the sociocultural
evolution of Australia in the 90s. Increasingly Australians are talking
about the need to "get back to basics"; to get closer to nature;
to simplify their lives; to recapture tradional values.'
('What Australians Feel about Their Pets', MacCallum Research, 1992).
Common problems caused by pets include :
Problems can be either annoying such as scratching furniture or hazardous, such as aggression towards humans and other animals. Their effect can be isolated to the owner, such as getting on chairs, or they can affect others, such as barking. In most instances the problem is a matter of degree, e.g. most dogs bark, it is when the barking becomes excessive that a problem emerges.
Problems also vary geographically. For instance, in inner areas pet problems are more likely to be associated with effects on neighbours than conflicts with other land uses, such as adjacent farming areas. In outer areas where densities are lower and there are farms nearby, the reverse is likely to be the case.
Many of the above problems arise because the pet is bored.
Most problems of pet ownership can be solved. At the forefront of work
by all parties interested in pets is the promotion of socially responsible
pet ownership. This concept has two components :
Both of these can be met by education and pressure by others. The Pet Food Manufacturers of Australia argue that education and subsequent peer group pressure are more effective than restrictive legislation and the associated control infrastructure (SDC, 1989, 169).
Education is performed by individual vets, animal behaviourists, the Australian Veterinary Association, manufacturers of pet foods and products and organisations such as the PIAS and the RSPCA. Section 6 of this Report outlines owners' responsibilities in detail.
The PIAS takes a proactive role in promoting responsible pet ownership.
It provides specialised information on all types of pets including :
Part of the problem has been a lack of information on selecting the right pet. In 1985, the PIAS introduced SELECTAPET, a computerised pet/human compatibility test which selects the right breed of dog or cat for the prospective owner and his or her lifestyle. Four breeds of dog or cat are suggested and information is provided on the characteristics and care of each. SELECTAPET is believed to be a world first. SELECTAPET is used by local government, the Canine and Feline Control Councils and is promoted at pet and agricultural shows. It can also be run by request at any other time. At the time of writing, the program has been run up to one million times since inception. It is a valuable contribution to encouraging more responsible pet ownership.
The PIAS recognises that many people need to become more responsible pet owners but believes that real progress has already been made. The PIAS is confident of further progress in the future. We only need look at other issues on which there has been vigorous debate in recent years. Smoking in public places has become unacceptable. Drinking and driving is now not only illegal it is seen as morally wrong. We have even been convinced to 'Slip, Slop and Slap' as a defence against harmful UV rays. In each of these cases, it is the ethical standard that has changed and because the change has occurred so gradually, we often don't realise how significant the progress has been. The PIAS believes the prospects for promoting responsible pet ownership are just as promising.
This Study complements other work promoting responsible pet ownership by looking at the ways in which urban design can prevent problems of pet ownership from occurring in the first place and by helping people to be responsible pet owners. Often only minor modifications to a design will make a substantial difference, e.g. the installation of a return-spring self-closing gate to stop dogs from roaming outside the owner's premises.
