Dog owners are bound to get riled up at a report by New Zealand authors Robert and Brenda Vale: the report said that a single dog is worse for the environment than an SUV. We all know that sports utility vehicles tend to be gas-guzzling foes of the environment (whose sales declined dramatically in the last few years and is undergoing a hybrid transformation). Is your doggie’s carbon pawprint impacting the environment? Is taking pouch on a walk worse than driving aimlessly in an SUV?
It is, according to the Vales. They say that the carbon footprint (the total greenhouse emissions produced by a being) of dogs is about twice what is emitted by SUVs. Their book, Time to Eat the Dog, the Real Guide to Sustainable Living, compares the footprint of pets to those of electronics, which we typically blame our environmental woes on.
So, time to get rid of your best friend? The one who always loves you and cheers you up when you have a bad day? The one who always wants to go for a walk with you or is up for an adventure? Reha Huttin, president of France’s 30 Million Friends animal rights organization doesn’t think so. “Pets are anti-depressants, they help us cope with stress, they are good for the elderly. Everyone should work out their own environmental impact. I should be allowed to say that I walk instead of using my car and that I don’t eat meat, so why shouldn’t I be allowed to have a little cat [or dog] to alleviate my loneliness?”
The main issue is diet – and the space and resources needed to produce it. A medium-sized dog consumes about 362 pounds of meat and 209 pounds of cereal in a year. It takes 43 square miles to create 2.2 pounds of dog food cereal. That is a lot of space, but experts have pounced on the book’s premise. Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society President and CEO, says, “I think the first instinct should be to look at our own diet and not push off the global warming causes to domesticated animals.”
Others call it a gross “over-magnification” of concern, while John Buckey, managing director of carbonfootprint.com, says, “Everything has an impact on the environment but I’m surprised by the size of these numbers. Without analyzing them further I find it difficult to believe.”
Still, everyone – man or beast – has a carbon footprint. If you want to reduce your dog’s, here are some tips:
- It is said that choice or fancy cuts have a more negative impact, while cheaper foods cause less. If you feel comfortable and your dog tolerates, make a switch.
- Again, if your dog tolerates, try getting meat scraps from the butcher or saving scraps of unseasoned meat when you cook.
- Don’t flush waste. Throw it away. It can decompose naturally.
- Don’t allow your dogs to hunt wildlife. Yes, dogs are hunters, but they are also pets. They eat what you feed them; if they hunt, they are throwing nature off-balance.
- Look at your own behavior and see what you can change. Walk when you can, recycle, eat less meat. All of these can help the earth – and don’t involve placing blame on innocent pups.
