Over 7 million pets at risk of suffering and disease through lack of vaccination, latest PAW Report finds
In 2022, 79% of dogs, 61% of cats and 52% of rabbits have received regular booster vaccinations. While this is slightly lower than the proportion in February 2020 immediately before the start of the pandemic, it is not significantly different from 2021. In 2022, 2.2 million dogs, 4.3 million cats and 480,000 rabbits have not received regular booster vaccinations.
PDSA PAW Report 2022
Primary Vaccinations
From 2018 to 2019 across all pet types, there was a significant decline in primary vaccination intakes. After 2019 you can see an increase right until the point of the pandemic which of course led to a national lockdown and therefore no vaccinations could be made to our pets.
In 2021 we see a slow but steady increase in the primary vaccinations given to our pets. In 2022 the percentage is only slightly higher than pre-pandemic and in 2018.
Regularly Vaccinated
From 2018 to 2019 there was a big increase in regularly vaccinated bunnies, however, for dogs and cats the improvement was minimal. In fact, cats being regularly vaccinated stayed the same for a whole year. 2019 – 2020 we saw a slow incline in regular vaccinations across all animals until the pandemic.
After the expected decline of vacations throughout the pandemic you can see a steady increase for both dogs and rabbits, but not so much for cats.
Pandemic Pet Boom!
Pet vaccinations declined during the pandemic which was to be expected, however, there was a huge increase in the population opening their homes to new pets.
24% of all owners acquired their pet in the last two years, meaning that 5.4 million pets have been acquired since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. This is higher for rabbit owners (33%) compared to dog owners (25%) and cat owners (22%), equating to 2.5 million dogs, 2.5 million cats and 330,000 rabbits. This is comparable to data released by the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA), which found that 4.7 million2 pets had been acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic.
PDSA Paw Report 2022
Pet owners’ reasons why they don’t vaccinate their pets:
Owners’ reasons not to Vs Why You Should Vaccinate Your Pet:
Reason’s not to vaccinate your pet:
Too expensive
Vaccination risks
I have a house cat
I have an indoor dog
My cat is under stress when I leave the house
Why you should vaccinate your pet:
Vaccinating your pet will help you avoid more costly treatments.
The benefits of vaccination far outweigh the side effects, and we recommend that you vaccinate your pet to provide the best possible protection.
Vaccines are recommended for every cat, indoor or outdoor, because of the widespread or severe nature of these diseases.
Transmission does not require direct contact with another dog, indoor-only dogs can be exposed and become ill if they are not appropriately vaccinated.
Taking your cat to the vet can be stressful for your cat and you, however, many practices have a Cat-friendly accredit to make your visit more comfortable for your cat.