Do we have too many pets?

With 80 million pets on its territory, France became the European champion. 15 million cats, 8 million dogs, more than half of French families have them. But with a parallel phenomenon that hasn’t diminished at all: abandonment… Every year 100,000 animals are abandoned, especially in the summer, when shelters are full. But then, don’t we have too many pets?

Why buy, sometimes very expensive, your pug, cavalier king charles or miniature spitz, these very fashionable little dogs, when you could adopt others, abandoned? Or simply do without them, if you don’t have time to take care of them as they need…

But things are moving. The law against animal abuse passed last November requires, for example, the signing of a certificate of commitment, and the The sale of dogs and cats will be banned in pet shops from 2024. It’s a way to remember that these animals are much more than consumer goods, even though they have undeniable advantages for their mastersboth psychological and physical.

But it is necessary for all of this, and at the other extreme, consider them as human beings? Philosophically speaking, the asymmetry in domestication raises questions. We have never seen a dog be the master of a man… But new practices such as “petfluencers”, who present their pets on social networks, are approaching.

Breeders, pet store and shelter sales

Guests question the importance of whether or not to buy an animal when there are so many abandoned in shelters.

For May Chan-Koung, head of pet flu campaigns, who bought her dog from a kennel, it depends on the context: “For a first time possession, I didn’t think I could go on a shelter dog that has a passive attitude.” , etc. In my opinion when you really get to know a breed upstream, when you are aware of all that, you visit a farm, the facilities, the operation, etc.

Camille Crosnier wonders if there isn’t some kind of “animal consumerism”. What Valérie Chansigaud, historian of science and the environment, answers: “It is clear that the animals we will choose based on their appearance… and the dogs in shelters, abandoned, who have a responsibility. I really don’t know which passive means, because the animals that can be welcomed have a history that is not necessarily easy, first of all for them, but it is not necessarily a negative liability to be avoided at all costs, on the contrary, it is part of their identity, of the personality of these animals.“

Some breeds are more successful than others. For Angélique Jammes, director of the union of pet professionals, it is difficult to change this: “It’s always been like this. In fact, we can’t change anything about it. Above all, solutions must be found to combat abandonment. But we cannot go against the human being who has always wanted a particular race. Today there are a lot of shiba, chiwawa, pugs, French bulldogs…”

Listen to the rest…

The guests

• Valerie Chansigaudhistorian of science and the environment
• Angelique Jamesmanaging director of

  Prodafunion of pet professionals

• Sandrine WeltmanDirector of Animal Welfare at the

  SPA

• May Chan Koungmanager of influencer campaigns for the communication agency

  YLGpet specialist

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