6 million pets at risk of deadly diseases

Leading vet charity PDSA is warning that an estimated third of UK dogs, cats and rabbits could be at serious risk of deadly diseases after a shocking decline in the number of owners vaccinating their pets when young.

The charity’s seventh PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report, which monitors pet welfare issues across the UK, revealed that just 75% of dogs (7.0 million) and 65% of cats (6.7 million) received a primary vaccination course when young. These are the lowest levels ever recorded by the Report – a worrying decline from 82% of dogs and 72% of cats in 2011.

In addition, only 66% of owners (5.6 million cats, 7.3 million dogs, 500,000 rabbits) surveyed protect their pet with annual booster vaccinations, which are vital to ensure pets remain protected.

Vaccinations: The Stats

2.3 million dogs (25%) received no vaccinations when they were young - a significant increase from just 18% in 2011
3.6 million cats (35%) received no vaccinations when they were young – an increase from 28% in 2011.
Rabbits remain the most neglected with 550,000 (50%) receiving no vaccinations when young.

Commenting on the troubling new findings, PDSA Head of Pet Health and Welfare, Nicola Martin, said: “The decreasing number of dogs, cats and rabbits receiving vaccinations is a great concern for the health and welfare of the nation’s pets. Vaccinations protect pets from infectious diseases, which can severely impact their health, and can often be fatal. An initial vaccination course, and regular boosters help prevent diseases such as parvovirus, cat flu and myxomatosis.”

Reasons behind the decrease

Of those surveyed, owners expressed ‘cost’ as one of the top reasons for not vaccinating their pet: with 20% of both dog and cat owners and 10% of rabbit owners giving ‘too expensive’ as their reason for not vaccinating.

Nicola added: “We are a nation of animal lovers, but the latest PAW Report highlights how many owners continue to seriously underestimate the costs of owning a pet. Despite potential lifetime costs of dog ownership easily rising to £21,000, the Report revealed 98% of dog owners underestimate the true lifetime cost of caring for their pet*****.

In addition to cost, the Report also revealed that 14% of dog owners, 22% of cat owners and 32% of rabbit owners who hadn’t vaccinated their pet felt vaccinations were unnecessary. 24% of pet owners claimed they hadn’t vaccinated their pet because they didn’t come into contact with other animals – which shows a lack of understanding of how these diseases can spread, and would indicate a wider issue for dogs, who need to be socialised with other dogs.

Nicola continues: “These findings show there’s a real lack of knowledge of the devastating diseases pets are susceptible to if they’re not protected through vaccination. It’s important we improve vaccination levels before we see a rise in pets suffering from preventable and often fatal diseases.”

Owners can find out the facts about vaccinations, and the diseases they protect pets from, at www.pdsa.org.uk/vaccinations.

‘Spread the word, not the disease’

In response to the worrying increase of unvaccinated pets, PDSA is launching a campaign to help raise awareness and spread the word about preventable deadly diseases. The charity is encouraging pet owners to get their pets vaccinated and ensure their boosters are up-to-date.

PDSA is asking people to pledge their support and #spreadtheword not the disease at www.pdsa.org.uk/spreadtheword