Pets suffer as the clocks change

By Jonathan Dawes, Mon 31 Oct 2011 - Published in Insurance

With the clocks going back an hour over the past weekend, research has found that the nation's pets will suffer the effects more than humans.

According to a survey conducted by The Co-operative Insurance, 1.6 million pets' behaviour will change as a result of the time alteration.

Of the pet insurance customers surveyed, 15 per cent said that there was a noticeable shift in the behaviour of their animal after the clocks change in winter, with 65 per cent of those respondents reporting a deterioration as the nights get darker.

The main symptoms of a behavioural change include lethargy, tiredness and depression, with six per cent of pet owners having taken their pet to the vets for these reasons.

Lee Mooney, head of pet insurance at The Co-operative, said: "The research shows that pets, like humans, are affected by changes of the seasons and that the turning back of the clocks to represent British winter time can exacerbate this."

One added stress factor for pets at this time of year is bonfire night. Pet Gazette said recently that pets should have no participation whatsoever in the celebrations.

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