AROUND 49 million hectares of agricultural land are used annually to make dry food for cats and dogs worldwide.

The latest findings of a study led by the University of Edinburgh suggest that pets and how they are fed should be considered alongside other actions to reduce climate change and biodiversity loss.

Analysis of the carbon footprint of pet food production also revealed that the industry emits more greenhouse gases each year than countries such as Mozambique and the Philippines.

Researchers say rising demand for pet food – driven by an increase in pet ownership around the world – should be factored into initiatives aimed at improving sustainability of the global food system.

The team analysed data on the main ingredients in more than 280 types of dry pet food available in the US and Europe, regions which account for two thirds of global sales.

They found that around half of dry food is made up of crop plants – such as maize, rice or wheat – with the rest consisting of various animal or fish products. Researchers combined the findings with data on the environmental impacts of producing the ingredients.

An area roughly twice the size of the UK is used annually to make dry food for cats and dogs, scientists said, which accounts for 95% of pet food sales.

Annual greenhouse gas emissions were found to be 106 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. A country producing the same levels would be the world’s sixtieth highest emitter, researchers said.

The study, published in the journal Global Environmental Change, also involved researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. The research was supported by the UK's Global Food Security Programme and the Helmholtz Association.

Dr Peter Alexander, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of GeoSciences and Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, who led the study, said: “Even accounting for the use of by-products in pet foods, the feeding of companion animals plays a role in environmental change. This is a topic that has been previously overlooked, but we have shown that pets and how they are feed should be considered alongside other actions to reduce climate change and biodiversity loss.”