Pet ownership around the world
Lesson summary
Hi there, thanks for joining us for Plain English lesson number 299. Can you believe we’ve been together for almost 300 English lessons? By now you know where to find all the lesson resources: that would be PlainEnglish.com/299. I’m Jeff, by the way; JR is the producer. What else do you need to know? That’s it!
On today’s lesson, it’s all about pets and pet ownership: who has them, what kind of pets, and why do we have them? The expression is “stepping stone” and JR has a song of the week.
Now before we start, there is one more thing you need to know. That is the definition of the word “butler.” A butler is like a household servant, but it’s really from times long ago. Like in a castle in England, they would have a butler. Mr. Carson was the head butler in the show Downton Abbey, for example. This is going to come up in the lesson, so pay attention. A butler is a person who serves the members of a rich household.
All right, so now you’re ready. Let’s get going.
Trends in pet ownership
The world is getting more pet-friendly, and the pandemic has only accelerated the trend.
According to a large survey of 22 nations, about 55 percent of consumers owned a pet. This is not a representative sample of the world’s population: these were mostly developed countries in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Pet ownership is a luxury that the world’s middle and upper classes can afford. Some surveys indicate that countries start to adopt pets once income reaches about $5,000 per year.
So the survey was mostly developed countries. But among the survey respondents, dogs were the most popular pets. About a third of survey respondents had a dog; a quarter had at least one cat; 12 percent had a fish; six percent had a bird; and six percent had another type of pet.
Where are the world’s most enthusiastic pet owners? Argentina, Mexico and Brazil are the three countries with the highest percentage of pet ownership: Eighty-two percent of Argentine respondents had some type of pet. The US was fifth on that list. Interestingly, the countries with the highest percentage of pet ownership are also the countries that prefer dogs over any other animal: Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina all have a strong preference for dogs. Although in Brazil, smaller breeds of dogs are more popular.
You’re least likely to own a pet if you’re in Asia, but Asian countries tend to prefer cats. The most popular cat-owning countries, though, are Russia, France and the United States. The most popular country for pet fish is China (I had no idea). And Turkey has a strong bird-owning tradition.
Pet ownership has a long history. There is evidence that humans and dogs lived together as far back as 10,000 years ago. But pet ownership has changed over the years. People today tend to treat their pets more like humans or a member of the family. A recent survey of American pet owners found 95 percent considered their pet to be a member of the family, up from 88 percent in 2007. Decades ago, pet ownership looked a lot different. Many dogs were sometimes allowed inside, but were just as often kept outside. They were fed table scraps or cheap, processed dog food. They had a leash, a collar, and maybe a blanket to sleep on.
Over time, people started to think about their dogs and cats as an extension of the human members of their family—a trend called “humanization.” Today, dog and cat owners often sleep in their own beds with their pets and treat them to organic, minimally processed (expensive) food. They have toys and stimulation; special schools; public parks and beaches have designated pet areas. Pet health insurance is popular so that ageing pets can have expensive operations or prescriptions if they get sick. In America, almost half of pet owners buy their pets birthday gifts. I have long maintained that if you want to make a lot of money in America, you should get into the pet industry: Americans well spend ridiculous amounts of money on their pets.
I’ve used the term “pet ownership,” and that is the most common way to describe someone who has a pet: that person is a pet “owner.” But lately some people have taken to calling themselves “pet parents.” You might hear someone say he’s a “dog dad.” And indeed as people delay having children until later in life, many couples use pets as a stepping stone toward parenthood.
But for the ultimate in pet humanization, look to South Korea. There, cats don’t have owners. Cats have “butlers.” That’s right: the people who have cats in South Korea call themselves the cats’ butlers. In America, we raise our pets to be our equals in our families; in South Korea, they raise their cats up so they are superior to the humans: the humans are the butlers!
There are many good reasons to have a pet. Pets provide emotional support and reduce anxiety in times of stress, especially like what we’ve been living through lately. Playing with pets is a great way for people to get exercise: taking dogs for walks has health benefits for both the dog and the walker. Many people find that caring for pets gives them purpose, is personally rewarding, and helps them socialize with other humans.
Studies often find that dog ownership is associated with better recoveries from events like stroke and heart attacks. Seniors who care for pets make fewer doctor’s visits. It’s hard to prove whether pet, or especially dog, ownership is truly the cause of better health outcomes, or whether healthier people are more likely to have pets. But pet ownership is generally associated with healthier people. Pets can also help children with ADD, or attention deficit disorder, and children who show signs of autism.
Read the survey results
I’ll tell you one thing that doesn’t surprise me: Argentina. When I was in Buenos Aires, one thing I noticed was the dog walkers. Just walking around the city, I’d often see dog walkers with three, sometimes four dogs at a time.
Brazil likes small dogs—that does surprise me. I would have thought a bigger country, with more open space, a lot of smaller towns—I would have thought that would be big-dog territory there.
If you want to find the stats on your country—the survey I was talking about was 22 countries, so maybe yours is on the list—then just look at the bottom of this lesson transcript at PlainEnglish.com/299. Click through to the main lesson and there are 2 links at the bottom of the transcript. One of the links is to the survey results on pets.
You do have to be logged in as a member, but it’s included in the free membership. And this is true for every lesson. Go to the bottom of the main lesson transcript and you’ll find two links to English articles about the main topic. So if you’re interested in the main topic, you have a way to continue to read about it in English.
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