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Bad News for Man’s Best Friend: Dogs Are Environmental Villains
Dogs have “extensive and multifarious” environmental impacts, disturbing wildlife, polluting waterways and contributing to carbon emissions, new research has found.
In the US, studies have found that deer, foxes and bobcats were less active in or avoid wilderness areas where dogs were allowed, while other research shows that insecticides from flea and tick medications kill aquatic invertebrates when they wash off into waterways. Dog feces can also leave scent traces and affect soil chemistry and plant growth.
The carbon footprint of pets is also significant. A 2020 study found the dry pet food industry had an environmental footprint of around twice the land area of the UK, with greenhouse gas emissions—56 to 151 Mt CO2— equivalent to the 60th highest-emitting country.
researchers attributed the extent of the environmental impacts to the sheer number of dogs globally, as well as “the lax or uninformed behavior of dog owners”.

Bad news for man's best friend: Dogs are environmental villains
“If nothing else, pick up your own dog shit."
