Over half of pet owners don’t know five animal welfare needs

18 February 2026

Charity urges all pet owners to learn five animal welfare needs this National Love Your Pet Day

PDSA, the UKs leading veterinary charity, is marking this year’s National Love Your Pet Day (20 February 2026) by urging pet owners to learn the basics of pet welfare to ensure pets have the best chance of being happy and healthy.

As a nation of animal lovers, pets are a huge part of our lives. The latest PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report shows that

• 91% of pet owners say having a pet improves their life
• 88% say it makes them mentally healthier
• 71% say it makes them physically healthier
• 70% say they have been a lifeline when times are tough

However, the report also reveals that, whilst pets are well loved, over half (56%) of owners are not familiar with their legal responsibilities as a pet owner. The Animal Welfare Act 2006 places a legal duty of care on pet owners or keepers to provide for their animals’ five welfare needs.

PDSA is encouraging all pet owners to familiarise themselves with the following five welfare needs:

• Health – protection from pain, injury, suffering and disease and seeking treatment if they become ill or injured.
• Behaviour – opportunity to behave naturally for their species e.g. play, run, dig, jump, fly etc.
• Companionship – to be housed with, or apart from, other animals as appropriate for the species. i.e. company of their own kind for sociable species like rabbits or guinea pigs, or to be housed alone for solitary species like hamsters.
• Diet – a suitable diet. This can include feeding appropriately for the pet’s life stage and feeding a suitable amount to prevent obesity or malnourishment, as well as access to clean fresh water.
• Environment – a suitable environment. This should include the right type of home with a comfortable place to rest and hide as well as space to exercise and explore.

PDSA Vet Nurse, Shauna Walsh, commented,

“What better way to show our pets we care this National Love Your Pet Day than to make sure we understand how to keep them happy and healthy?

“We are a nation of proud pet owners, but pet ownership can be full of surprises, so it’s always worth doing your research using credible sources to make sure you know how best to look after them.

“Understanding the five animal welfare needs is a great place to start and the good news is that PDSA has lots of free information to help people to be the best pet owners they can be.”

To help people understand how best to keep their pet happy and healthy, PDSA provides a free online Pet Health Hub, which is packed with bitesize guidance for current pet owners and anyone thinking about getting a pet.

There, people can gain answers to some of the most common questions about pet ownership, ranging from advice on neutering, flea and worm treatment and pet insurance, through to how to buy a pet responsibly or even how to understand your pet’s body language.

Visit pdsa.org.uk/love-your-pet for more information.