Document type : Article published in la Dépêche vétérinaire
Author: La Dépêche vétérinaire
Preview:The third Ipsos survey for Royal Canin confirms the importance of pets in households and their increasing medicalisation. Regular visits to the vet and good quality food are seen as two ways to achieve good health.
In the run-up to the first round of the French presidential elections, Royal Canin unveiled the its third Ipsos poll on the relationship between French people and their companion animals*.
In it, the pride of place given to animals within households is confirmed, with 69% of those surveyed saying that their pet is one of the family and 94% saying that they are aware of the concept of animal welfare (this figure was 95% in June 2021, see DV issue 1585).
One development highlighted in this survey is the French people's increased awareness of animal rights and the growing importance of these opinions in the context of the presidential election. Ninety-seven per cent of them believe that pets have genuine rights.
"Beyond respecting animals and their rights, the French are ready for responsible patterns of behaviour to be secured through penalties for possible infringements of animal protection legislation: 90% support fines, 83% are in favour of warnings, 81% support the loss of custody of the animal, 79% support a ban on adopting further pets, while more than one in two French people (54%) would go as far as to support a prison sentence," comments Royal Canin.
What people expect of electoral manifestos
In the midst of the presidential elections, six out of ten French people say that manifestos including proposals on the rights of pets would be decisive or important in their choice of candidate during the election.
Although they expect the candidates to make commitments on animal welfare and the rights of pets, no candidate has won their support on the basis of animal rights, despite a slightly higher level of confidence shown in Yannick Jadot (42%) and Emmanuel Macron (38%).
The poll also reveals that the French are paying increasing attention to the health and stability of their animals.
Royal Canin notes an increase in responsible behaviour compared to previous polls, with a significant rise in the sterilisation and microchipping of dogs (57% sterilised and 92% chipped, i.e. a rise of 7% since 2020) and cats (91% sterilised and 69% chipped, i.e. a rise of 10% since 2020).
* Ipsos survey conducted using a representative national sample of the French population aged 18 and over, comprising 1,052 people, interviewed via the Internet on 7 and 8 February 2022.
