Air pollution thought to increase vet visits for Dorset cats and dogs
The RSPCA says tackling poor air quality could help animals, and humans
High levels of air pollution have reportedly led to an increase in the number of vet visits for both cats and dogs.
Weymouth and Bournemouth both featured in the top 75 worst polluted places last year, well above World Health Organisation guidelines.
Caroline Allen, Chief Vet Officer for the RSPCA, told us there is correlation in the findings: “Data shows that in areas where there is more pollution, there are more vet visits but it doesn't necessarily prove that that's the cause.
“Obviously, dogs, cats, other animals, aren’t that different to us and we know that air pollution is bad for our health, so the findings do make sense.”
According to government figures, nearly 5% of people over 30 died due to poor air quality in Dorset last year.
Researchers also estimated how fluctuations and spikes in fine particulate exposure led to more pet healthcare visits.
Ms Allen said: “Cats do suffer from asthma and dogs do get respiratory conditions and there are some links between certain cancers, probably not the same ones as in people,
“Additionally, we know that indoor air quality can be a factor in the development of carcinomas which is a type of tumour in cats.”
Reports suggest that reducing pollution levels to meet recommendations set by the World Health Organisation would result in 80,000 fewer vet visits per year.
There are now calls to tackle air pollution to improve the health of our pets as well as create a “huge” saving in vet bills and cut out unnecessary stress for pet owners.
Ms Allen added: “We know exactly needs to be done to tackle air pollution, for example reducing our reliance on cars and not adding unnecessary additional pollution into the atmosphere.
“If we start thinking about the harm pollution causes all the creatures in our environment then that’ll hopefully inspire change which will be a beneficial thing to do.”