Pandemic Puppies: Characterising motivations and behaviours of UK owners who purchased puppies during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

Packer, Rowena; Brand, Claire; Belshaw, Zoe; Pegram, Camilla; Stevens, Kim; O'Neill, Dan

Abstract

Attempts to control the spread of coronavirus during the COVID-19 Pandemic included periods of ‘lockdown’ in the UK, where many households spent several months at home with limited external social contact. Data from diverse sources suggest unusually high numbers of the public purchased puppies during this period, dubbed “Pandemic Puppies”. This study aimed to explore this phenomenon by comparing pre-purchase motivations, and pre-purchase and purchase behaviours of UK owners purchasing puppies aged £2000 compared with 2019 puppies. Changes in puppy purchasing during the Pandemic raise welfare concerns for this unique population in both the short-term (e.g. relinquishment) and longer-term (e.g. behavioural problems and poor health).

Citation

Packer, R., Brand, C., Belshaw, Z., Pegram, C., Stevens, K., & O'Neill, D. (2021). Pandemic Puppies: Characterising motivations and behaviours of UK owners who purchased puppies during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic. Animals, 11(9), 2500. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092500

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 20, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Aug 25, 2021
• Publication Date: Aug 25, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jul 12, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 21, 2021
• Print ISSN: 2076-2615
• Electronic ISSN: 2076-2615
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 2500
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11092500
• Public URL: https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1550038