Website helps choose the right pet
Updated on 15 January 2009
A website to help prospective pet owners pick the animal that suits them best is being launched.
Your Right Pet has been set up by veterinary charity PDSA and includes a four-step formula to guide people through their choice.
PDSA vet Sean Wensley said animals could often suffer if their owner chose a pet that did not fit in with their lifestyle.
He said: "It is not uncommon to see rabbits that are housed alone in hutches that are too small, with no opportunity to exercise, and fed a completely inappropriate diet that has led to painful and debilitating dental disease.
"Other animals, like reptiles and parrots, are taken on as pets with little or no knowledge of how to provide the living environments and diets that they need to be healthy and happy. As a result many suffer malnutrition and disease.
"All too often, vets are picking up the pieces of misguided pet choices and dealing with animals that are suffering because their welfare needs have not been met."
Your Right Pet asks people a series of questions including how much space they can give an animal and whether they can provide it with enough exercise.
It features a cartoon pet which changes as the questions are answered until the user's most suitable pet is revealed at the end.
The website is at www.your-right-pet.org.uk
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