In his article (Want to truly have empathy for animals? Stop owning pets, 4 February), Troy Vettese discounts the significant benefits that pets bring to the lives of billions of people worldwide. Scientific research shows that human-animal interactions can have a powerful impact on mental, physical and social health for individuals, families and entire communities.
In fact, the benefits of pets are so profound that Vettese should consider making a full U-turn – we should have more pets and we should view them as a low-cost, high-reward public health strategy.
