The Vales, specialists in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington, analysed popular brands of pet food and calculated that a medium-sized dog eats around 164 kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal a year.
Combine the land required to generate its food and a "medium" sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) -- around twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4x4 driving 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) a year, including energy to build the car.
To confirm the results, the New Scientist magazine asked John Barrett at the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, Britain, to calculate eco-pawprints based on his own data. The results were essentially the same.
"Owning a dog really is quite an extravagance, mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat," Barrett said.
To read the full post click on the link below:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091220/sc_afp/lifestyleclimatewarminganimalsfood
My comment: This study has already stoked the ire of some pet owners who understandably have many reasons for owning their pets. The initial study has been confirmed by at least one other source with similar results. The goal of these scientists is to present of full cycle analysis of what it takes to sustain pets. This isn't surprising to me since there are previous studies that indicate a change in the American diet away from beef would result in a reduced carbon footprint due to the high environmental costs of raising beef.
There is an irony of sorts in this in that many environmentalists are also avid pet owners. I'm certainly not asking pet owners to give up their pets but just pointing out the environmental cost of domestic pet ownership. Share your thoughts below..... ◦
