Pets: UK households 'buy 3.2 million animals in lockdown'
A total of 3.2 million households in the UK have got a pet since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
That's according to a survey of just over 5,000 people by the Pet Food Manufacturers' Association (PFMA), which says the country now has 17 million pet-owning homes.
Young people are the main cause behind this trend, with more than half of new owners aged 16 to 34, the PFMA says.
Many have bought pets in response to social isolation, but there are concerns about animal welfare, it adds.