An assessment of the owned canine and feline demographics in Chile: registration, sterilization, and unsupervised roaming indicators

The global rise in companion animal populations, particularly dogs and cats, is driven by emotional and social benefits for owners, and their population management is becoming critically important to avoid a plethora of adverse effects on themselves, humans, and wildlife. We estimated the size and density of the owned canine and feline population in Chile and evaluated the status of microchipping, registration, sterilization rates, and the proportion of owned animals that roam unsupervised. A cross-sectional household survey in 36 districts was conducted and standard inferential statistics was employed to analyze differences between cats and dogs, sexes within each species, and between rural and urban areas. Additionally, two negative binomial models with mixed effects were developed to predict the number of dogs and cats per households. Two methods were used to compare population size estimates at the country level, multiplying: (1) the estimated mean number of companion animals per household by the estimated number of households at the country level, and (2) the estimated human:dog and human:cat ratios by the total human population. The study involved 6333 respondents, of which 76% (74% urban; 83% rural) owned companion animals (dogs and/or cats). Individuals in rural multi-person households increase the probability of owning dogs and/or cats. Additionally, women exhibit a greater inclination towards cat and dog ownership compared to men, while those over 30 years old demonstrate lower rates of companion animal ownership in contrast to the 18-30 age group for both species. The overall human:dog and human:cat ratios estimated were 2.7:1, and 6.2:1, respectively. The estimated total number of owned dogs and cats in Chile ranged from 9.6 to 10.7 million, depending on the methodological approach, while national median density of companion animals was 12 dogs per km2 (ranging from 0.02 to 7232) and 5 cats per km2 (ranging from 0.01 to 3242). This nationwide study showed one of the highest percentages of households with companion animals in Latin America and relatively low registration and sterilization rates, highlighting the need to strength long-term public policies to control populations of companion animals and promote responsibility in pet ownership.

Evaluating the recently imposed English compulsory dog microchipping policy. Evidence from an English Local Authority

This is the first empirical study examining the effectiveness of the newly imposed English compulsory dog microchipping policy. A dataset of 2974 records was retrieved from an English local authority's website. Records were from the period 2010-2018 and were analysed based on the three periods of the policy timeline: initial period includes data recorded prior to the intent of imposing the microchipping policy (April 1, 2010 - February 2, 2013); second period includes data recorded between the announcement of the intent and the date of the policy coming into effect (February 3, 2013-April 5, 2016); and the final period includes data recorded after the policy came into effect (April 6, 2016-July 4, 2018). A preliminary binary univariable logistic regression model analyzed the initial period which revealed that microchipping was an effective means of traceability providing evidence supporting the imposition of the policy. Thereafter, a multinomial logistic regression model was employed for the complete dataset and all policy periods. It revealed that both the period after the announcement of intent to impose the policy and the period after the policy came into effect have had a significant effect on the return of stray dogs, with the latter of greater magnitude. In particular for Staffordshire bull terriers and its crosses, which is the leading breed in animal welfare organization and local authority kennels, this study identifies the need for further research. Overall, these findings are encouraging in terms of the success of the policy however, more insights are required on keeping microchip details up-to-date and on the link of deprived areas, youth and the ownership of Staffordshire bull terriers. Although the findings of this study may not be generalized to all English local authorities, its conclusions could be used as a benchmark and starting point for further investigation.