There are 60.5 million pets in Italy, 30 million of which are fish, followed by 13 million birds, 7.5 million cats, industry body says

Nevin Barich

ROME , May 27, 2014 (ANSA) – There's the equivalent of one pet for every person in Italy, a report issued Tuesday showed. According to the National Association of Companies for Food and Care of Companion Animals (ASSALCO), there are 60.5 million pets in Italy, 30 million of which are fish, followed by 13 million birds. Cats come in third, numbering 7.48 million, most of which tend to live with singles. Dogs on the other hand number 6.95 million and tend to live with families. Roughly half of all households include either a dog or cat. Small animals including turtles and rabbits make up three million of the country's total pet population. In 2013, Italians spent 1.77 billion euros to feed their domesticated animals. The growing global market for pet food was worth 53 billion euros the same year. The United States pet-food market alone is worth 15.5 billion euros.

(c) 2014 ANSA Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.