French have most pets in Europe

THE French have more pets than any other Europeans, a study has shown.

SantéVet, an animal medical insurance firm, say there are 61.6 million pets in France (compared to 64 million people).

More than half of French households have a dog, cat, fish or rodent. A quarter have a dog and 27% have a cat, though the cat population is the highest (10.7 million compared to 7.8 million) because people often have several cats.

According to SantéVet the French spend €3 billion a year on their pets and this has been rising due to factors like specialised foods like diet dog biscuits, and increasing vet costs (up 72% in ten years). The profession has become more specialised - for example there are now vet ophthalmologists.

However some pets are cheaper than others. According to SantéVet while a dog costs on average €1,300 a year, a snake costs just €80.

© Lana Langlois - Fotolia.com