{"id":1075923,"date":"2026-07-08T09:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1075923\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T09:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T09:10:14","slug":"pets-in-london-have-the-uks-shortest-average-lifespan-report-reveals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1075923\/","title":{"rendered":"Pets in London have the UK’s shortest average lifespan, report reveals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pets in London have the shortest average lifespan of any major UK city, according to new data<\/a> from pet insurance company Petgevity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

While our furry friends live to just six years in London, Manchester comes in at a close second with an average of 6.1 years, and Cardiff with 6.2 years.<\/p>\n

At the other end of the rankings, pets in Plymouth have the longest average lifespan at 9.1 years \u2013 more than three years longer than those in London. Nottingham followed at 8.1 years, with Norwich third at 7.9 years.<\/p>\n

All Dogs Matter<\/a> CEO Ira Moss said: \u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019re dying naturally at six years old, I think they\u2019re probably being euthanised.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t imagine a dog dying naturally at six years old unless it was neglected, and sadly a lot of dogs are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moss, who heads up the London-based rescue and rehoming charity, said neglect and poor welfare may be contributing factors, although she stressed the figures alone cannot explain why lifespans differ.<\/p>\n

\u201cDogs that are coming in might already have some medical history that we\u2019re not aware of so it\u2019s not that that dog has necessarily got a shorter life, it\u2019s just that the first or second owner may have not looked after the dog and got it treated so that\u2019s why it could have a shorter lifespan,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

She said many dogs are living until 14, while some smaller breeds can even surpass that. \u00a0<\/p>\n

CEO of Mayhew Animal Home<\/a>, Elvira Meucci-Lyons, agrees. \u201cAlthough the report suggests pets in London may have shorter lives than elsewhere, we see many wonderful older cats and dogs still full of love to give,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

Moss said her main concern is not the reported average lifespan itself, but the welfare issues that may lie behind it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of people that are abandoning dogs, and in some cases these dogs won\u2019t live as long as they should because they don\u2019t want to pay for the bills, which are obviously quite expensive,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Moss said this is particularly true for female dogs used for breeding, which she said are often subjected to poor welfare conditions.<\/p>\n

She added overbreeding can lead to health problems, including allergies and other inherited conditions that may also affect puppies.<\/p>\n

She said environmental factors, including air pollution, can also contribute to skin conditions and allergies. However, there is no evidence in the Petgevity report linking London\u2019s air quality directly to shorter pet lifespans.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, for responsible and loving pet<\/a> owners in London, she said there are benefits to living in the capital with your furry friends.<\/p>\n

\u201cLondon is so split in terms of wealth and green space, but it can be an amazing place to have a dog,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it probably comes up as one of the best cities to have a dog if you\u2019re willing to put the time in and you consider the affordability of that dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Petgevity data raises questions about why pets in London appear to have shorter lifespans, both charities stressed that responsible ownership, access to veterinary care and good welfare remain the biggest factors in helping animals live long, healthy lives.<\/p>\n

Featured image credit: Pexels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pets in London have the shortest average lifespan of any major UK city, according to new data from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1075924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7757],"tags":[294728,748,690,393,4884,257,294729,5698,16,15],"class_list":["post-1075923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-london","tag-all-dogs-matter","tag-britain","tag-dogs","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-london","tag-mayhew-animal-home","tag-pets","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116883582423146052","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1075923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1075923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1075924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1075923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1075923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1075923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}