The pet transition: towards a new regime of anthropozoological relations

Abstract

The aim of this article is to formalise a model that can account for a contrasting, but global, dynamic that is seeing a rise in the numbers and desirability of pets, and is now being extended to the Global South. Our proposed ‘pet transition’ model offers a relational and evolutionary analysis of the connections among three major categories of animals (pets, livestock and wildlife) over four periods. It is a heuristic and comparative tool that contributes to a geography of pets and to the broader conversation about evolving human-animal relations in the Anthropocene. The issue of what a pet is, the role of companionship, and the different perceptions of the owner-pet relationship as an axiological model of relations with animals cast light on the role of veterinarians, the agri-food industry, the press, and animal studies in the recomposition of anthropozoological relations. The paper discusses the boundaries between animal categories, the narratives around domestication, and the idea of a new animal regime centred on pets. It calls for further work to be done to document the diversity and contrasts in human-animal relations in regard to the proposed pet transition model.