Ugh, this article, ‘Is getting a cat or dog bad for the planet?’ in the Independent (23 July 2021) was not easy reading, with my furry friend curled up quietly (for once!) at my feet.

• ‘Dry pet food production emits 106 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, more than countries such as Mozambique and the Philippines’
• ‘Dry food production for cats and dogs uses around 49 million hectares of agricultural land, roughly twice the size of the UK, annually’
• ‘The meat consumption of cats and dogs in the US produces around 64 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of a year’s worth of driving from 13 million cars’
• ‘…cats and dogs are responsible for 25 to 30 per cent of the environmental impact of meat consumption in the US’
• ‘A country made up of just cats and dogs would rank fifth in the world for meat consumption, after Russia, Brazil, the United States and China…’

Are there more climate-friendly alternatives?

Yes.

There are plant-based and insect-based alternatives, and the article links to some options.

I wonder what our four-paw will make of these.  She did eat a butterfly the other day, much to the distress of our children…