Pet Histories and Wellbeing

The Pet Histories and Wellbeing Project will develop research from the AHRC Pets and Family Life Project in the context of debates on the wellbeing of pets and their owners, in collaboration with the Museum of the Home and the charity Blue Cross. The Museum of the Home is the only national museum to explore the idea of the home in critical depth. The Blue Cross is a national charity that helps sick, injured, abandoned and homeless pets and offers advice and education for current or future pet owners and pet bereavement and support. In 2021 the museum will stage a temporary exhibition on the history of pets - funding is sought for a linked project that will bring the partners together to explore pets and wellbeing in the past and present. The collaboration will produce creative outputs and public engagement activities that will sit alongside the exhibition, and some permanent outputs.

Pets are an important part of Britain's society, culture and economy. In 2019 a UK Gov and PDSA report estimated that 50% of UK adults owned a pet. Pets are part of family life, but they are also an important part of the British economy. In 2019, the store Pets at Home reported half-year pre-tax profits of £45 million. Meanwhile, mental health awareness is unprecedented both in terms of people accessing services and public dialogue. It is estimated that approximately one in four people in the UK will suffer a mental health problem each year and that mental health problems are the largest single cause of disability in the UK.

Recent research has demonstrated a strong link between pet animals and human wellbeing. A 2019 Blue Cross Report found that pets can help people with mental health conditions by offering love and company, increased social interaction, motivation, exercise and distraction. During 2020-2021 Blue Cross will run a campaign to raise awareness amongst the public and policy makers of the potential role of pets in contributing to wellbeing. MoTH is running a Wellbeing Season from 2020 which the project will link to. The capacity of pets to forge strong emotional attachments with their guardians is also a major theme of the Pets and Family Life Project - while species popularity, pet keeping practices and cultural framing changed over time, there was significant long-term continuity in emotional investment in animals. The historical research strongly supports the contention that pets can make a significant contribution to individual wellbeing.

Historical interpretation and archival materials will be developed to provide the creative basis for a series of activities and outputs including: a film exploring the relationship between pets people with mental health conditions in the past and present; an immersive environment recreating the presence of animals in the home; a debate forum exploring the wellbeing of both owners and pets in contemporary and historic perspectives; an interpretation plan for the exhibition designed to raise awareness of animal welfare; a self-guided tour for schools; summer holiday reading groups with dogs for children; historic birding tours of the local area and a pop-up pet bereavement café. The historians will also work with the museum on raising the profile of animals in the permanent collections, and some outputs will be available for longer term use.