Dog Food Consumption in the Caribbean: A Baseline Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v19i1.181Keywords:
Dogs, Commercial dog food, Nutrition, PetsAbstract
Dogs in the Caribbean have been traditionally viewed as low maintenance pets which are fed leftovers from the household. Changes in the lifestyle of Caribbean families have resulted in changes in their eating patterns. These changes can be expected to have consequences for the feeding of dogs, which may require households to switch to commercial dog food. This paper reports the finding of a survey of groups involved with pets and animal welfare in the Caribbean conducted on behalf of the Pet Food Institute, a non-profit industry association. The study examined perspectives on how dogs are fed in the Caribbean and activities conducted to educate pet owners and the public. Use of household scraps and commercial dog food was associated with household income, except in the case of some high income dependent territories. The findings indicate that while many animal welfare groups in the Caribbean provide educational programs, not all of these provide recommendations on feeding pets and so they neglect to provide information on an important aspect of animal welfare.References
Axelsson, E., Ratnakumar, A., Arendt, M., Maqbool, K., Webster, M. T., Perloski, M., Liberg, O., Arnemo, J. M., Hedhammar, A., & Lindblad-Toh, K., (2013, March 21). The genomic signature of dog domestication reveals adaptation to a starch-rich diet [Letter to the Editor]. Nature, 496, 360-364. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11837
Batson, A. (2008, June). Global companion animal ownership and trade: Project summary. World Society for the Protection of Animals. http://www.wspa-international.org
Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, Pan American Health Organization, & World Health Organization. (2004). Uses of food consumption and anthropometric surveys in the Caribbean: How to transform data into decision-making tools. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/008/y5825e/y5825e00.pdf
Coppinger, R., & Coppinger, L. (2002). Dogs: A new understanding of canine origin, behaviour and evolution. University of Chicago Press.
Davis, B. W., Alie, K., Fielding, W. J., Morters, M., & Galindo, F. (2007). Preliminary observations on the characteristics of the owned dog population in Roseau, Dominica. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 10(2), 141-151. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888700701313520
Fielding, W. J. (2007). Knowledge of the welfare of non-human animals and prevalence of dog care practices in New Providence, The Bahamas. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 10(2), 153-168. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888700701313587
Fielding, W. J. (2010). Determinants of the level of care provided for various types and sizes of dogs in New Providence, The Bahamas. International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 16, 63-77. 10.15362/ijbs.v16i0.119
Fielding, W. J., Gall, M., Green, D., & Eller, W. S. (2012). Care of dogs and attitudes of dog owners in Port-au-Prince, the Republic of Haiti. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 15, 236-53. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2012.683760
Fielding, W. J., Mather, J., & Isaacs, M. (2005). Potcakes: Dog ownership in New Providence, The Bahamas. Purdue University Press.
Fielding, W. J., & Ostberg, A. (2008). Animal welfare in the wider Caribbean in 2008, with emphasis on dogs. http://www.hsi.org/assets/pdfs/2008_caribbean_animal-welfare_conference/survey_animal_welfare_organizations.pdf
Fielding, W. J., & Plumridge, S. (2005). Characteristics of owned dogs on the island of New Providence, The Bahamas. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 8(4), 245-260. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327604jaws0804_2
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2010). Dog population management options with special emphasis on animal welfare and health. http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/home/documents/2010_sept_econference-Dog_population.pdf
Grennan, E. H., & Fielding, W. J. (2008). Tourists’ reactions to non-human animals: Implications for tourist-animal research in the Caribbean. http://www.caribbeananimalwelfare.org/images/Animal_welfare_organization_survey_results_CAWC08.pdf
Humane Society International. (2002, April). Challenges of animal protection on island nations: With special emphasis on dogs and cats [Conference proceedings]. http://files.hsus.org/webfiles/HSI/E_Library_PDFs/eng_challenges_island_nations.pdf
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (2009). The agricultural, food and health challenge: Critical issues, perspectives and options. http://orton.catie.ac.cr/repdoc/A5356E/A5356E.PDF
Market Solutions LLC. (2012). Caribbean market potential for U.S. pet food: Findings of a strategic assessment. Pet Food Institute.
United States National Research Council Ad Hoc Committee on Dog and Cat Nutrition. (2006). Nutrient requirements of dogs and cats. National Academies Press. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10668
Pet Food Institute. (2013). Pet food info. http://www.petfoodinstitute.org/?page=PetFoodInfo
Tasker, L. (2007). An investigation of stray dog and cat population control practices across Europe. World Society for the Protection of Animals & RSPCA International Department. http://www.rspca.org.uk/ImageLocator/LocateAsset?asset=document&assetId=1232711401369&mode=prd
United Nations Statistics Division. (2012). National accounts main aggregates. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/snaama/dnlList.asp
Williams, S. (2012, September 22). Dogs get cheap pig feed. The Jamaica Star Online. http://jamaica-star.com/thestar/20120922/news/news2.html
Worrell, D., Marshall, D., & Smith, N. (2000). The political economy of exchange rate policy in the Caribbean. Inter-American Development Bank. http://www.iadb.org/res/publications/pubfiles/pubr-401.pdf
Yaeger, M. J., Mullin, K., Ensley, S. M., Ware, W. A., & Slavin, R. A. (2012). Myocardial toxicity in a group of greyhounds administered ractopamine. Veterinary Pathology, 49(3), 569-573. https://doi.org/10.1177/030098581142475
