Furry friends

The number of dogs in US animal shelters has almost doubled from the pandemic low of 60,000 to 111,500 as of April 2023. In any given year, about 1.3 to 1.6 million dogs enter one of the 3,500 US animal shelters, which is about 1.7% of the 88 million total cat and dog population. Where do shelter animals go? The vast majority, about 80%, are either adopted or return to their owner. Adoption is still less a source of pets for people than buying from a breeder. Approximately 70% of new pet owners get their furry friends from a breeder compared to 30% from adoption. For a more detailed discussion of trends in the pet industry see our latest white paper “Planet of the fur babies: pet sector still thriving”.

Source: 24Petcare, Robeco analysis, April 2023.