How Climate Change is Impacting Your Pet
In 2024, the concept of climate change is nothing new. The frequency and severity of natural disasters, extreme weather events, and record temperatures seem to worsen every few years. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), at the current rate of warming, global temperatures are set to increase by 1.5°C by 2030-2052. Not only does this have significant consequences for natural ecosystems and human wellbeing, but it has consequences for our pet’s wellbeing too.
Today, we’re talking about ways pets are impacted by climate change and tips on what to do about it. We’re discussing:
- Natural disasters and preparing for emergencies
- Pet health impacts from higher temperatures and how to adapt
- Reducing carbon pawprint
Natural Disasters
Have you ever thought about what you would do with your pet in a natural disaster? If you had to evacuate, where would you go, would local disaster shelters and accommodation even accept pets? According to the Australian Government, there were 57 disaster events recorded in Australia in 2023 alone – including a tornado, cyclones, floods, storms, severe weather events, and bushfires. That’s more than one disaster event a week!
Some reasons pet owners fail to evacuate with their pets include believing they will return back to the animal shortly, being away from home at the time of disaster, or being unable to take animals to emergency accommodation, and unfortunately having no other choice but to leave them.
It’s not fun to imagine, but it’s smart to think about it now and prepare for emergencies with a disaster emergency plan that includes your pet.
Quick tips for your Pet Emergency Plan:
- As a starting place, make sure your pets have identification tags and are microchipped for security.
- Familiarise yourself with your local emergency agencies and sign up for alerts during a disaster.
- Work out where you might be able to evacuate with your pet to – such as family or friends outside of the risk area, the RSPCA, pet boarding facilities, or pet friendly emergency centres.
- Most importantly, check out the RSPCA’s advice on creating a Pet Emergency Kit and Pet Emergency Plan here.
Pet Health Impacts
Longer and warmer summers mean greater risk of heat stress and heat exhaustion in pets. As pet parents, this means we need to adapt how we care for our pets to avoid putting them in potentially dangerous situations. One example could be waking earlier in summer to walk your dog in the early hours of the morning when the temperatures are cooler. Knowing what temperatures are safe for your dog to be outside is super important – check out our Temperature Guide to know when to keep your dog indoors. Longer, hotter days make it harder to get regular exercise in the summer months and over time can contribute to obesity in pets, a disease which further reduces their ability to cope in hotter climates. So adjusting your schedule slightly or finding creative ways to keep them active is key. When outdoors, you can keep your pets cool with a Cooling Mat and hydrated with a Travel Water Bowl.
Warmer weather has also been found to increase the spread and distribution of diseases, such as ticks thus increasing the likelihood of tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease. Being aware of tick season, tick symptoms, and staying on top of preventative medication is crucial.
Carbon Pawprint
Just like humans have a carbon footprint, our pets have one too. Many people consider pets as family members (yep, guilty!) and provide a high level of care for their pet - like they would any family member. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it pays to remember pets contribute to carbon emissions so where possible, consider eco-friendly pet products and practices to lessen your pet’s environmental impact.
There is no doubt changes in the climate and natural environment will continue to evolve in years to come - for better or worse. Having an awareness of how climate change impacts our pets and what we can do to manage it is part of our responsibility as pet parents. We believe in sharing awareness on topics like this with other pet owners, as a way to take action on one of our core values - creating a culture of proactive care for pet wellbeing.
Good for Pets, Good for the Planet
At Bisous Pets, we believe in doing what we can as a small business to operate in a sustainable way and reduce our environmental impact. Learn more about our sustainability philosophy here.
Happy Earth Day furiends
