ABSTRACT
Recently, small animal medidnes markets have been growing at a steady rate compared with the downward trend being seen in some farm animal markets. Companion animals (Mpetsj are owned by an estimated 70 percent of the population in parts of the United States (Poresky and Daniels 1998); over half of the households in the United Kingdom currently own a pet (PFMA 1997), and figures for pet ownership in New Zealand have reached almost 90 percent (Fifield and Forsyth 1999). The growth in this area is due in part to changes in culture, particularly the disintegration of family units, where pets become substitutes for children. Continental Europe is less devoted to pet ownership than Britain and the United States; in some other cultures, Mpets" are merely working animals, and emotional attachments are not developed. Figures also show that cats are overtaking dogs as the most popular pets in the United Kingdom, owned by 5.1 million households, with many households having more than one (PFMA 1997). Rabbits are increasing in popularity as companion animals, as are various other Mexotic" species (ferrets, birds, reptiles, spiders). The imperative for clinical trials of veterinary medicines really only pertains to those medidnes destined for the treatment of cats and dogs. Less common species could be treated under the
"cascade" legislation (VMD 1995), thus negating the need for large-scale clinical trials. The other candidate companion animal is the horse. Despite its obvious inclusion in the pet category, depending on the country in which the trial is taking place, the horse might be considered a food-producing species.
