PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report

The PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report is the UK's largest annual assessment of pet wellbeing.

When the PAW Report launched in 2011, it became the first overarching means of identifying, assessing and monitoring the wellbeing of companion animals and how well their 5 Welfare Needs are being met. While the introduction of the Animal Welfare Acts in 2006 placed a legal 'duty of care' for all pet owners to meet their pet's Welfare Needs, there was no accompanying Government surveillance, and therefore, before the PAW Report, no means of knowing if this was being achieved on a nationwide scale.

Each year PDSA works with leading market research company, YouGov, to survey nationally representative samples of pet dog, cat and rabbit owners, providing insight into animal welfare issues, estimating pet population numbers, and understanding how people care for their pets. Over the years, our vital research has found that millions of UK pets are not having these needs appropriately met.

Over 15 years of data gives us unrivalled insight to track the changing trends of how well owners provide for their pets’ 5 Welfare Needs benchmarked against the UK Animal Welfare Acts.

Key findings from the 2026 PDSA Animal Wellbeing Report

The PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report provides a detailed view of how pets are cared for across the UK, with a focus on the Five Welfare Needs. Since 2011, the Report has used a consistent and validated methodology to track trends in pet populations, acquisition behaviours, and the wider context of pet ownership, offering valuable insights into the evolving landscape of animal welfare.

This year’s PAW Report looked at The Knowledge Gap: What Pet Owners Don’t Know About Their Pets. Most owners want the best for their pets, but good intentions don't always translate into the choices and behaviours needed for good pet wellbeing. Our Report helps us understand owners’ knowledge, expectations and misconceptions, which is key to supporting informed decision-making and promoting better pet welfare and responsible ownership.

In 2026, the UK’s estimated dog population has fallen, while cats have regained their position as the UK’s most popular pet. A key focus of this year's Report is how people choose and prepare for a new pet, with findings revealing that most pet owners find their pet online and that the number of pet owners who do no research before getting a pet has increased.

We also looked at how supporting good pet welfare means helping pets to thrive, not just preventing problems. Pet owners play an important role in making everyday choices around diet, exercise, enrichment, training and companionship, all of which can affect physical health, behaviour and quality of life. While many owners are meeting their pets’ needs and giving them positive experiences, there are still opportunities for improvement in areas such as understanding of behaviour, weight management, breed-related health awareness, rabbit companionship and access to appropriate care and stimulation.

A further focus for the 2026 Report was on responsible dog ownership. This is essential for supporting dog welfare while also keeping people and animals safe. This year’s findings highlight the need for greater awareness of positive training methods, dog behaviour and evidence-based approaches to dog control.

These findings provide evidence-based results, allowing us to identify emerging trends and early indicators of pet welfare issues. They enable us to monitor and safeguard the wellbeing of the nation's pets, provide recommendations to improve the life of pets and work with others across the sector to drive positive change.

Antibiotic Stewardship Report

In 2023, our PAW Report survey included questions about antibiotic stewardship, providing insight into the perceptions of both pet owners and veterinary professionals about this important issue.

The issue of antibiotic usage and resistance in companion animals is of significant concern both globally and within the UK. Antibiotics are essential in both veterinary and human medicine but their use, whether appropriate or not, creates a powerful selection pressure on bacteria and is the primary cause of antibacterial resistance, posing a serious threat to both animal and human health. Eliminating unnecessary use in people and animals is essential to safeguard antibiotics for the future.

PDSA is committed to antimicrobial stewardship and has produced protocols focused on this area in recent years, achieving demonstrable reductions in antimicrobial use across its network of Pet Hospitals, while still optimising patient outcome.

This report provides an overview of the work PDSA has done to reduce antibiotic use, alongside exploring the initiatives and collaborative efforts taken by organisations like the Responsible Use of Medicines Alliance, Companion Animals & Equine (RUMA, CA&E) to improve antimicrobial stewardship and ensure the continued responsible use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine.

Why does PDSA produce the PAW Report?

The purpose of the PAW Report is to provide an in-depth analysis of current welfare issues and overall pet wellbeing in the UK. This provides an evidence-base, and impact measure, for any activities or initiatives which tackle these issues, both for us and for those we work with from the veterinary profession and across the animal welfare sector, to local, devolved and central Government.

PDSA works alongside researchers and students to make PAW Report data available for studies on selected relevant topics, bringing additional animal welfare benefit through further research. 

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The PAW Report’s years of monitoring and tracking trends in pet welfare in the UK has been peer-reviewed and published in the Vet Record. ‘Driving evidence‐based improvements for the UK's ‘Stressed. Lonely. Overweight. Bored. Aggressive. Misunderstood…but loved’ companion animals’ (Wensley et al, 2021) is available via open access.

A nation of animal lovers

Many problems seen by animal welfare organisations across the UK are entirely preventable. 91% of owners tell us that owning a pet improves their life, but despite being a nation of animal lovers, who love their pets and treat them as valued family members, the PAW Report continues to show that many owners misunderstand their pet’s Welfare Needs which can impact on their long-term health and wellbeing.

Pet owners need support, and the PAW Report highlights the areas that need to be targeted to drive positive change. It’s essential that we continue to work towards understanding and overcoming the barriers owners have to providing the care that pets require, and helping them learn about how to take care of their pets, especially at a time with so many competing voices. The veterinary profession and the wider animal welfare community have a vital role to play in using both empathy and evidence-based information to guide owners to help them improve their pet’s wellbeing.

Working with pet owners, the veterinary profession and fellow animal welfare organisations, together we can make a better life for all our pets.