Increasing number of pets in USA

For the first time, this survey was conducted online. It was divided into two parts, a screener and detailed pet owner module (questionnaire). 25 109 respondents completed the screener, of which 17 077 were current pet owners.82.5 mio pet owning householdsThe survey indicates that pet ownership among all online US households is 68 per cent. This equates to an increase to 82.5 mio pet owning households in 2012.Coincident with the increase in overall pet ownership is a comparable gain in the total number of households owning a dog or a cat. Dog ownership swelled to 56.7 mio households, while cat ownership grew to 45.3 mio. These gains in dog- and cat-owning households mean that the total number of these pets has also increased, the APPA points out. The survey reports a total of 83.3 mio dogs and 95.6 mio cats in the US. This means that dogs and cats are still the most popular species, owned by 46.7 per cent and 37.3 per cent of US households respectively.After a decline in 2010, freshwater fish ownership has returned to levels previously reported from 2000 to 2008 (12 per cent). The same can be said for bird ownership, which dipped briefly in 2008 and 2010 to 5 per cent, but is now back to 5.7 per cent. Small animal ownership is at 5.7 per cent, and reptiles are owned by 4.6 per cent of online US households. Saltwater fish ownership is still at a relatively small incidence of 1.5 per cent of the population in the US.Obtaining a petWhere are pets obtained? This was another question put to the respondents of the survey. The answers varied considerably from species to species. The percentage of owners that obtained their small animals from a pet chain/superstore (23 per cent) is higher for this species than for any other species of pet. Reptile keepers, however, prefer independent pet stores as a common source for their pets (17 per cent) more than almost any other source, as well as more often than other species. And fish owners prefer speciality fish stores (41 per cent), followed by pet chains and pet superstores (37 per cent) and independent pet stores (16 per cent).As regards companion pets in general, animal shelters/humane societies and friends/relatives, strays and breeders outweigh all other retail sources. 20 per cent of dog owners and 26 per cent of cat owners obtain their pet from an animal shelter or a humane society. 27 per cent of dogs and 32 per cent of cats were adopted from friends or relatives.Dog owners also value breeders and animal farms…