A guide to understanding how the world of pets (including the economic side) is growing and changing

Seven years have passed since the first *Il Sole 24 Ore* guide dedicated to the pet economy, which was published in May 2019. During this time, much has changed, both in Italia and around the world, in terms of our understanding of and relationship with the animals living in our homes. Their numbers have grown steadily, as have the pet food, services and care sectors. There is more talk of animal rights and of everything they do for us – things that perhaps not everyone is aware of – from pet therapy to four-legged ‘professionals’ who specialise in detecting unexploded ordnance (mine-detecting rats) or keeping flocks away from airports (dogs and falcons).

The 56-page guide is divided into key themes: the economic context, veterinary care, health insurance policies, major pet shop chains, emerging professions, pet tourism, technology (from smart bowls to drones for locating lost animals), the cutting edge of pet design to create home environments tailored to the needs of dogs and cats (and others), local by-laws on beaches and public decency, pet therapy, the rise in exotic pets (a term which also includes Peruvian guinea pigs), efforts to tackle animal abandonment and amendments to the Criminal Code and the Highway Code, and, last but not least, the most heart-warming stories from the world of volunteering.

The spirit of the Guide is to embrace the changes currently taking place. “Compassion and empathy for animals generate compassion and empathy for human beings. Cruelty towards animals generates cruelty towards human beings,” said Jane Goodall, who passed away at the age of 94 at the end of last year and whom we must remember not only as one of the most important scientists of the last two centuries, but also for her tireless commitment to the defence of primates and every animal and plant on this planet. She knew everything there was to know about chimpanzees and many other species of apes, but she is also famous for explaining that her favourite animal was the dog. The reason? “The chimpanzee is too much like humans, particularly in its flaws. The dog, on the other hand, possesses a quality that we often lack: it loves unconditionally.’ Some canine behaviourists highlight another trait: the ability to live in and appreciate the present, whilst we humans oscillate between an obsession with the past and one with the future.

In recent years, Homo sapiens’ relationship with animals – as we have said – has changed, if we look at the bigger picture: the number of hunters has fallen almost everywhere, and many countries have banned circus animals or closed water parks where whales and dolphins are effectively held captive. Traditions such as bullfighting are being called into question, and in several African countries, serious efforts are being made to combat poaching. From the macro to the micro, from the world at large to our personal lives, what has changed is the rise in the number of pets in our homes and the growth, indeed, of the so-called ‘pet economy’, because every animal must be fed and cared for, and increasingly understood and treated as a sentient being. We therefore have a great opportunity, by changing our relationship with pets, as Jane Goodall said: to become more empathetic, in the hope of halting the drift towards conflict that characterises every society and, returning to the ‘macro’ level, the whole world.

The Pet Economy Guide is closely linked to – and perhaps partly inspired by – the Radio 24 podcast Animale a chi?, all five seasons of which have already been broadcast: you can find them on the Radio 24 website and on all streaming platforms. The podcast’s co-author, Miriam Carbone, has written many of the chapters in the Guide, as a way of gathering ideas for the next series of Animale a chi?. As in the past two summers, a selection of episodes from the fifth series has also been included in the summer schedule of the Il Sole 24 ORE Group’s radio station, which begins on Monday 27 July.