Pet Ownership and Animal Welfare: US, Japan and Brazil

What American, Japanese and Brazilian local sources actually say about pets as family members — and why the same question about love for animals reveals very different conversations

June 2026 · Researched via local sources using LikeLoc · United States: 28 sources · Japan: 29 sources · Brazil: 29 sources

Live searches: United States · Japan · Brazil

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Ask a global pet industry report about the rise of pet humanization and you get a single reassuring story: around the world, people love their pets more than ever, markets are booming, and animals are becoming legal persons. It is tidy, universal, warm.

When I searched "how people view pet ownership, animal welfare, and pets as family members" through local sources in the United States, Japan and Brazil, I found something more complicated. All three countries share a cultural arc toward treating pets as family — but the starting point, the friction, and the problems each society is still trying to solve look completely different depending on where you ask.

In the US, pets are already part of the legal family unit — the conversation is about fixing a shelter system that doesn't match. In Japan, pets fill an emotional gap in a society with one of the lowest birth rates in the world. In Brazil, the market for humanized pet care has exploded, but responsible ownership still lags behind.

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77 million homes, one question: why is the shelter system still broken?

In the United States, the numbers are staggering. The American Veterinary Medical Association's most recent data puts pet-owning households at 77.5 million — up more than 8% from 2016 — covering 58.6% of US households. A separate APPA 2025 National Pet Owners Survey puts the figure at 95 million US households sharing their home with a pet. Between dogs and cats alone, the American pet population stands at an estimated 204 million animals in 2026.

The emotional reality behind these numbers is equally clear. Pew Research Center data finds that 97% of US pet owners consider their pets part of the family — and 51% go further, saying their pet is as much a part of their family as any human member. The AVMA's figure is slightly more conservative but still striking: 79.5% of dog owners and 70.4% of cat owners say their pet is a family member. Women pet owners (57%) and lower-income pet owners (64%) are most likely to rate their animals as equivalent family members — a finding that has consistently surprised researchers expecting the pattern to run the other way.

"We believe that pets and people belong together; that financial circumstances alone are not reliable indicators of the capacity to love and care for a companion animal." — ASPCA

American local sources are not content with statistics, though. The friction in the US conversation is specific: if pets are unambiguously family, why does the system still fail so many of them? The ASPCA estimates that nearly 6.3 million pets enter shelters annually, with almost a million euthanized. The primary driver is not cruelty but structural mismatch: housing instability, a severe shortage of pet-inclusive rental housing, and insufficient support during crises — domestic violence, homelessness, hospitalization — all force families to surrender pets they would otherwise keep. The fear of losing a pet, local sources note repeatedly, deters vulnerable people from seeking help in the first place.

The legal landscape is shifting in response. California's AB 2274 — the pet custody law — empowers courts to consider the care of the pet in marital dissolution proceedings, breaking from the old treatment of animals as inanimate property. In 2026 alone, more than 500 animal welfare bills were introduced across the country, focused on pet-friendly housing, breed restrictions, and support for pet owners in crisis. The ASPCA's 2026 survey found that 81% of Americans support stronger animal welfare certification for chickens raised for meat, and 86% oppose male chick culling in egg production — suggesting the circle of moral consideration is broadening beyond companion animals.

Generationally, the shift is moving younger: Millennials account for 33% of US pet ownership, and Gen Z is now at 20% — with 70% of Gen Z pet owners having two or more pets. The cost of living in the United States weighs heavily on pet care budgets, and local sources consistently flag that veterinary costs, pet deposits, and boarding fees are hardest to bear for lower-income households, even as emotional attachment in those groups remains highest.

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Kazoku-ka: when pets fill the space children once occupied

Japan's relationship with pets sits inside a much larger national conversation about family, loneliness and demographic decline. Local Japanese sources — from universities, the Ministry of Environment and veterinary associations — describe a country where the "familialization" of pets, kazoku-ka (家族化), has been accelerating for more than a decade, and where a 2023 survey found that 82% of Japanese pet owners consider their animals family members.

The context is significant. Japan has one of the world's lowest birth rates, a rapidly ageing population, and rising rates of single-person households. Academic research — including a Doshisha University study using Japanese General Social Survey (JGSS) data — examines the role of dogs specifically as substitutes or complements for children in households where human family members are absent. The research does not treat this as pathological; it treats it as a rational response to changed social structure. Pets provide purpose, routine, unconditional connection.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this. In 2020, Japan saw its highest new dog adoption rate in a decade as people spending more time at home turned to animal companionship. The pet market expanded substantially, and the Japan Pet Food Association documented growth across the industry. Local sources from the Ministry of Environment's ecojin magazine frame the resulting bond as a social good — while also raising questions about whether welfare standards have kept pace.

In Japan, the legal status of pets is shifting — from property to something closer to personhood, though the law has not yet caught up with how owners already feel.

The legal conversation is underway. A Tokyo Bar Association analysis examines the legal status of pets and concludes that current Japanese law still classifies animals as property, but that the emotional reality of pet ownership has long since moved beyond that framing. A 2025 Hoyukai legal review discusses what reform might look like. The Ministry of Environment's Animal Welfare Management Act has been revised to tighten standards for pet shops and breeders — closing some of the loop for concerns about breeding practices — with advocates pushing for continued enforcement and greater regulation.

The shadow over Japan's pet culture is specific: elderly abandonment. As Japan's ageing population grows, a larger share of pet owners are in their 70s and 80s — and local sources from Toyo University flag a pattern where elderly owners become unable to care for animals but cannot find appropriate support. Hoarding cases have also increased. The legal and welfare infrastructure has not kept pace with who is actually owning animals. The cost of living in Japan shapes this too: veterinary costs are a barrier for elderly owners on fixed incomes, even as attachment remains deep.

Rescue culture is growing in response. Local sources describe an expanding movement toward adopting shelter animals rather than buying from pet shops — facilitated by municipal programmes and community groups working toward a "zero abandonment" (飼育放棄ゼロ) goal. The attitude in Japanese sources is ultimately hopeful: that legal protections, adoption culture and welfare standards will catch up to where emotional reality already is.

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Humanização: the world's second-largest pet market, and the responsibility gap that follows

Brazil has one of the most striking pet stories in the world. Local Brazilian sources — from academic institutions like UniCEUB and Unifeso, to industry body Sindpetshop-SP, to CNN Brasil — describe a country that has become the world's second-largest pet market, generating approximately R$77 billion per year. That number is a product of something specific: the "humanização" (humanization) of pets — a cultural shift in which animals are increasingly treated as members of the multispecies family, or família multiespécie.

A study cited in local sources found that 61% of Brazilian pet owners consider their dogs and cats full family members, with the trend most pronounced among young urban residents. Owners spend up to 8% of their family budget on pets, driving demand for premium food, veterinary care, pet-friendly accommodation and specialized services. The legal system has followed: Brazil's new Law 15.392/2026 establishes rules for the shared custody of pets in cases of separation or divorce, recognizing the emotional bond between humans and animals. Brazil's Supreme Court (STJ) has addressed the legal status of companion animals in multiple rulings, and academic legal literature on "família multiespécie" frames this as a fundamental shift in how Brazilian society understands kinship.

"Pets bring significant benefits to the mental and physical health of their owners. Studies show that living with pets can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as promote a sense of emotional support." — Brazilian academic sources

Animal-assisted therapy (terapia assistida) is a growing area of local attention. Brazilian academic sources from Unifiso and UNISEPE document programmes in hospitals, care homes and schools — building an evidence base for animal presence as a health and therapeutic intervention. CNN Brasil coverage of peer-reviewed research frames pets as doing "as much good as friends and family" for mental health outcomes.

The other side of the humanização story is harder. Local Brazilian sources from health and welfare institutions are direct: responsible ownership remains a significant gap. Many pet owners — particularly outside major urban centres — are unaware of basic animal welfare requirements: spaying and neutering, vaccination schedules, regular veterinary care. The lack of effective public policies for managing stray dog and cat populations contributes to abandonment and neglect, even in a country where the market for premium pet food is booming. Pubvet research and state public health surveys document this bifurcation: deepening care at the top of the market, persistent welfare challenges at the base. The cost of living in Brazil creates a particular tension here — the families most enthusiastic about pet humanization often face the sharpest tradeoffs around veterinary costs.

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What I took from searching three different local internets

All three countries share the emotional starting point: pets are family, full stop. But how that principle plays out in practice — in law, welfare systems, market structure and the problems people are still arguing about — differs dramatically.

In the United States, the family sentiment is nearly universal, the data infrastructure is vast, and the legal system is catching up with how people have felt for decades. The unresolved tension is structural: a shelter system and housing market built around different assumptions about animals, still resulting in millions of surrenders annually that don't reflect how attached owners actually were.

In Japan, the conversation is about a deeper social function. Pets are meeting a need — for connection, routine, unconditional companionship — that was previously met by larger households and earlier marriage. The legal and welfare system is working to catch up with both the emotional reality (pets as family members) and the demographic one (an ageing population of owners who need support systems for their animals too).

In Brazil, the story is market expansion at speed, followed by the infrastructure question: a booming humanização culture among urban young owners co-exists with persistent gaps in basic welfare knowledge in less-resourced communities. The new custody law and STJ rulings signal where the law is going; the work of welfare researchers and public health institutions signals how much further the on-the-ground reality still needs to travel.

What unites all three: the shift toward treating pets as family is not just sentimental — it is producing legal change, market restructuring, and new welfare demands. The differences lie in which part of that shift each country is still navigating.

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Selected sources

United States

• Majority of Americans think of their pets as family members | Pew Research Center — "Majority of Americans think of their pets as family members" (Pew Research Center, 2023 — 97% of US pet owners consider pets family; 51% say as much as a human member; breakdowns by gender, income and urban/rural location)
• National Pet Week 2026: Pet ownership surges as AVMA celebrates human-animal bond — "National Pet Week 2026: Pet ownership surges" (AVMA / PR Newswire, May 2026 — 77.5 million US pet-owning households; 79.5% of dog owners and 70.4% of cat owners consider pets family)
• ASPCA Research and Surveys on Food & Farming Systems | ASPCA — "ASPCA 2026 Public Opinion Surveys" (ASPCA, 2026 — 81% support stronger animal welfare certification; 86% oppose male chick culling; pet owners more likely to care about farm animal welfare)
• Policy That Matters: Animal Welfare Legislation On the Move in 2026 — "Animal welfare legislation on the move in 2026" (Association for Animal Welfare Advancement — 500+ welfare bills introduced in January 2026; pet-friendly housing, TNR, breed-restriction reform)
• Position Statement on Keeping Pets and People Together | ASPCA — "Position statement on keeping pets and people together" (ASPCA — housing instability as primary driver of shelter surrender; case for pet-inclusive housing and crisis-support policies)

Japan

• [PDF] SDGsから考える動物福祉―人間とペットとの共生 - 京都教育大学 — "Animal welfare considered from the SDGs: the coexistence of humans and pets" (Kyoto University of Education — academic framing of animal welfare and SDG targets in the context of Japan's human-pet relationship)
• 【特集】人とペットのやさしい関係 | 特集 | ecojin（エコジン）：環境省 — "The gentle relationship between people and pets" (ecojin / Ministry of Environment — 82% of owners consider pets family; feature on the evolving bond and welfare responsibilities)
• [PDF] 子どもの代替としての犬の役割に関する一考察(1) ―JGSS のデータ ... — "A study on the role of dogs as substitutes for children — JGSS data" (Doshisha University / JGSS monographs — research on pets as substitutes or complements for children in single-person and childless households)
• ペットの法的地位に対する考察 | 法友会｜東京弁護士会 — "A consideration of the legal status of pets" (Hoyukai / Tokyo Bar Association, 2025 — analysis of how Japanese law classifies animals and what reform toward personhood might look like)
• "飼育放棄ゼロ"を目指して。ペットと人が幸せになるために、私たちができることとは？｜LINK@TOYO｜東洋大学 — "Aiming for zero pet abandonment: what can we do for pets and people to be happy?" (Toyo University — research on elderly abandonment, hoarding, and responsible ownership gaps)

Brazil

• [PDF] MARINA E SILVA DE AMORIM CARRÃO FAMÍLIA MULTIESPÉCIE — "Multispecies family" (UniCEUB academic thesis — legal and sociological analysis of the "família multiespécie" concept and its implications for custody rights in Brazil)
• Pets fazem tão bem quanto amigos e família, aponta estudo | CNN Brasil — "Pets do as much good as friends and family, study shows" (CNN Brasil — coverage of research linking pet ownership to mental health benefits including anxiety and depression reduction)
• Como a Humanização dos Pets Transforma o Mercado | Sindpetshop-SP — "How the humanization of pets transforms the market" (Sindpetshop-SP — industry analysis of the humanização trend; pet market reaching ~R$77 billion/year; owners spending up to 8% of family budget)
• Animais de estimação: um conceito jurídico em transformação - STJ — "Pets: a legal concept in transformation" (STJ / Brazil Supreme Court — key rulings on the legal status of companion animals; shift from property to protected emotional bond)
• Avaliação do bem-estar e posse responsável de animais de companhia do município de Xinguara, Pará | Pubvet — "Assessment of animal welfare and responsible ownership of companion animals in Xinguara, Pará" (Pubvet — field survey on welfare knowledge gaps and responsible ownership challenges in lower-resource communities)