Have you thought about your pet’s pawprint?

By being responsible pet parents, we could save our pets from earning a bad rap due to their toll on the environment.

T he world has around a billion pets — about one dog or cat for every seven people. Most of them were brought into this world by us with a ‘human-created’ stamp. That stamp has very little positive associations because much of what we have created — plastics, automobiles, agriculture and chemicals — have been disastrous for this planet. So, could our much-loved furballs be just as bad? Unfortunately, beyond the cuddly, innocent faces of our pets lies an inconvenient truth — our pets have a significant environmental pawprint — and acknowledging that would be a step towards being a responsible pet parent. Of course, pets aren’t the ones to be blamed because we chose to have them in our lives. Everything in nature comes with a purpose and in moderation. Every species has a role and a place in the food web, and their numbers are dictated by how much food is available and how favourable the conditions are for survival. Humans are probably the only exception. If we didn’t farm, build cities or cure diseases, our population would have been far less than the seven billion mark, perhaps for the planet’s own good. Our pets too had nature-intended roles— cats as opportunistic hunters and dogs as scavengers — and the availability of food largely decided how many of them lived.

Inconvenient truths

But, none of that holds true for our pets that we have bred and fed for centuries! Much like how we aren’t hunter-gatherers anymore but grow our own food, we also produce our pets’ food. Our dogs don’t feed on thrown-away meat and refuse — as scavengers do. Instead, their platters come dressed with loin chops topped with salmon oil, and look far more appetising than ours! But, producing these special cuts of meat needs copious amounts of land and water, and releases tons of greenhouse gases. Store-bought pet foods don’t fare better either. Recent studies have revealed some troubling ingredients, like endangered shark meat, in them. That’s not to say we have to put our pets, who evolved as carnivores, on a vegetarian or vegan diet! Instead, we could feed them nutritionally-rich animal parts that humans don’t prefer and often end up in the trash. Lamb hooves, pork ears or chicken giblets — that look disgusting — make a yummy and healthy dinner for Fido. If home-cooked meals are your thing, learning more about the source of your meat could be a good start.

Our pets’ pee and poop is also a vexed topic — they contain large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, like all excreta. With too many human-created pets, these chemicals get added to the soil and rob its quality. Also, when nitrogen-laden poop gets carried to ponds and lakes with running water, it can lead to toxic algal blooms, choking aquatic life. Carnivore faeces contain pathogens and stepping on them is no fun. Unlike street dogs and cats, our pets aren’t discreet with their toilet habits, so picking up after them is the best we could do to avoid creating a mess, literally and figuratively.

The mere existence of surplus dogs and cats can threaten biodiversity. Scientists estimate that cats, which go after birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects, kill anywhere between 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually! It’s wise not to let our pet cats out of the bag — and keep them safe indoors! Dogs are no saints either —unleashed dogs walking in ecologically-sensitive areas earn a bad rap for destroying bird nests, chasing wildlife and sometimes, hunting them too. Although Fido can splash a big smile running around unleashed, the same can’t be said of other life forms that he could torment! Our pets, like other mammals, are reservoirs of pathogens that can spread to other animals and humans. Being up-to-date on annual vaccinations and providing the required medical care can keep them and their environment safe. With many hotels in ecologically sensitive regions welcoming pets, the stakes are high for being a responsible pet parent.

All this is not to weigh down the burden of having pets in our lives — they create some of the brightest days and make it all worth it! But, knowing that there is an environmental cost to that is key, especially if you brought them home because of the awe nature and animals instilled in us. Get out there with Fido and Garfield, but don’t forget the poop bags and leashes!

Tailspin is your monthly column on everything that’s heartwarming and annoying about pet parenting.

The writer is a science communicator and mom to Pippi, a five-year-old rescued Indie, who is behind her drive to understand dogs better. She tweets at @RamanSpoorthy