It’s not fur: newspaper article reporting of abandonment and relinquishment of pets exhibit taxonomic biases in framing and language use

Animal domestication and companionship hold cultural and economic significance, but there are downsides to the practice, too, including the relinquishment and/or abandonment of animals (cessation of ownership). As such, the topic attracts a great deal of media coverage. However, we expect biases exist in the amount and nature of coverage different animal species receive, informing our views on the relative scale and importance of ownership cessation in different taxa. We systematically searched English language newspaper articles about cessation of ownership of pets in the UK, to test whether major pet groups (cats and dogs; traditionally kept small mammals; reptiles and amphibians) differ in the number of newspaper article reports, framing, and language use. Significant variation was observed, with a greater number of articles focused on cats and dogs. Reptiles and amphibians received less coverage and were framed more negatively. Popular newspaper articles write about reptiles and amphibians in a way that is consistent with ‘othering,’ i.e., using words that insult, exclude, or dismiss another group. This trend may have important implications for public perceptions of the taxon, and any perceived lack of worth of a given taxon may feed into the support for interventions and policies aiming to optimise their welfare.