An estimated 12 million non-domestic or exotic pets are kept in the UK.
Welfare problems often arise from a lack of understanding of how to care for them. In the 2010 annual survey of pet shops, free care information (excluding price) was available in some form in 52 per cent of shops compared to 55 per cent in 2009 but only 24 per cent of materials covered all five welfare needs which was down from 32 per cent last year.
More than 40 per cent of pet keepers report that the most common problem they experience is a lack of information provided by suppliers. With an estimated 745,000 exotic pets on sale in England and Wales in 2010, this is obviously of great concern.
Over the last couple of years the availability of free written information has changed little. Discounting leaflets from the Pets at Home chain, only 19 per cent of shops provided free leaflets in 2010 compared to 14 per cent in 2009. Improvements could be made, particularly in the provision of free leaflets to allow potential owners to mull over any decision before they take on the responsibility of caring for an animal.
For more information, read the 'non-domestic pets' indicator.
