ANIMALS AS PETS THE TOP 10 MOST INTERESTING UK PET STATISTICS 1. 59% of households in the U.K. own pets. 2. Dogs are the most popular pets, with 12.5 million in the U.K. 3. Cats come in a close second at 12.2 million. 4. 2% of U.K. households own indoor birds. 5. Domestic fowl (chickens mainly) follow indoor birds closely at 1.1% pet ownership. Mary Dalton with a Pet Chaffinch
6. There are 5 million fish tanks in U.K. households.
James Lonsdale (1777-1839)
7. The Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog breed in
[LANLM.1983.43.10]
Male chaffinches were kept as pets because of their beautiful singing voices. They learn to sing from older chaffinches and use their song to attract a female during mating season. Keeping chaffinches as pets was outlawed in Britain by the Wild Birds Protection Acts of 1860 – 1896. Chaffinches have regional dialects! This means that birds in different areas sing different songs. Most male chaffinches know two or three different songs.
the U.K., with 12% ownership. 8. The most popular breed of cat in the U.K. is the Moggy (a recognised general breed) at 51%. 9. It’s estimated that the lifetime cost of owning a dog is £10,000 to £16,000! 10. 2% of U.K. households acquired a pet during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Squirrel Figurine [LANLM.1944.3.152]
I'm not stubborn you are!
Domesticated animals started out with ones that were useful to humans. Cats could catch rats and mice, dogs would guard property and people, and birds would cheer us up with their singing.
The 1700s was a golden era for squirrel ownership. Squirrels were popular pets for wealthy urban families because they were easily bred, funny, and of course very cute. Polite, upper-class squirrels wore a collar attached to a chain, enabling them to sit on their owner’s shoulder or skitter around entertaining visitors. I'm not stubborn you are!
A national survey revealed that 55% of us associate donkeys with stubbornness. The Donkey Sanctuary says this is because of their strong-willed nature, their likelihood to freeze when threatened or frightened and their strong sense of self-preservation.