DOMESTIC ANIMALS

Owning a dog really is quiet an extravagance mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat according to studies.

A medium-sized dog eats around 164 kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal a year. Combine the land required to generate it's food and a "medium" sized dog has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares - around twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4x4 driving 10,000 kilometers a year including energy to build a car.

Cats have an eco-footprint of about 0.15 hectares slightly less than driving a volkswagen golf for a year, while 2 hamsters equates to a plasma television and even the humble goldfish burns energy equivalent to 2 mobile telephone.

Pets environmental impact is not limited to their carbon footprint as cats and dogs devastate wildlife, spread disease and pollute waterways. Likewise dogs decrease biodiversity in areas they are walked, while their feces caused high bacterial levels in rivers and streams making the water unsafe to drink, starving waterways of oxygen and killing aquatic life.

Cat poo can be even more toxic than doggy doo- owners who flush their litter down the toilet ultimately impact sea otters and other animals with toxic-plasma gondji, which causes a killer brain disease.

Be aware, man's best friend could be one of the environments's worst enemies according to studies which says the carbon pawprint of a pet dog is more than double that of a gas-guzaling sports utility vehicle.