A similar poll of vets verified the findings, claiming that 40% of the animals taken to them were above normal weight.

Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance said around one in seven claims could be attributed to illnesses and conditions caused by a pet being overweight, including animal diabetes, heart diseases, and bone and ligament problems.

Lucy Hunter of Sainsbury’s Pet Insurance said:

“As is the case with humans, a lack of exercise and a poor diet, or overeating, is causing our pets’ weight to balloon. The saddest thing about this research is the fact that the pets are not to blame. A lot of animals will eat everything that is put in front of them so the onus is on the owner to monitor and restrict the amount of food that their pet is consuming.
Owners that do not look after their pets through poor diets and a lack of exercise increase the chances of their animals suffering serious health problems.”

The fact is of course that pets do not look after themselves. There are far to many lazy owners who do not exercise themselves let alone their pets and are content on overfeeding themselves, their siblings and their pets!

Under the proposed law changes owners will also be required to micro-chip their dogs and are considering plans to keep the most dangerous varieties muzzled-even in their own property as well as issuing ‘DOGBOs’, the canine equivalent of ‘ASBOS’ against dogs displaying signs of anti social behaviour.

Figures released by the Conservative party suggest that there are 100 people every week treated in hospital after being bitten by dogs.

In a survey by the Dog Trust it was found that the majority of dog owners questioned, 88%, would support such legislation.

Other measures being considered are an outright ban on some breeds of dog in the UK.

The offer is available to all new customers who purchase the Tesco Standard Pet Insurance policy online before August 19.

The insurer also offers a more comprehensive policy through it’s Tesco Extra Cover Pet Insurance, this increases the treatment cover for your pet from the standard £2,500, up to £4,000. This product is being offered with a 20% discount through the promotion period.

Tesco only offer cover for cats and dogs and NOT for any other pets.

In fairness the survey was conducted amongst 3000 pet owners but surprisingly the findings were equally expressed by both men and women. It seems that the pet industry is thriving in the UK with over £484million being spent by owners on their pets this year.

A spokeswoman from PetPlan, said: “It seems that pets of all shapes and sizes are now being considered a perfectly sensible alternative to starting a family for cash-strapped couples. We know that many owners develop very strong emotional ties to their pets that are often treated as part of the family. But we do urge all would-be pet owners to understand that pet ownership does come with responsibilities, just like parenthood.”

Inflation and the downturn in the UK economy are forcing consumers to make unwelcome choices as to where they spend their hard earned cash and insurance policies will no doubt be hit hard.

The survey reveals that many respondents would be reducing their motor insurance from comprehensive cover to third party, in a bid to save cash on premiums, with as many as 26% expecting to cancel or reduce cover for Payment Protection policies.

Twelve percent of respondents would be looking for better deals on travel insurance and ten percent would make cut backs on health insurance. As a nation of pet lovers it’s no surprise that only 8% expected to make cut backs on pet insurance.

The consumer cut backs are predicted to cost the insurance industry somewhere around £1.5billion during this year.