In Spain there are more households with pets than with children. A study prepared by ANFAAC (National Association of Manufacturers of Food for Companion Animals) in 2019, in the country there are more than 28 million pets, a figure that has experienced an extraordinary rise in the last decade that has meant that more than 40% of Spanish households have a domestic animal. Of these, 6,733,097 were dogs, 3,795,139 were cats and the rest were fish, reptiles, birds and small mammals such as rabbits or ferrets.
Pets are not only the protagonists of many homes in Spain, and in the world, but they have also become the stars of social networks. They already have their own name: the ‘petfluencers‘. It is becoming more and more common to have a dog or a cat and create a profile for it on Twitter, Facebook or, above all, on Instagram where you can post unique and exclusive content about that animal as if it managed it. Some data indicates that one in ten dogs already have their own account on a social network and the reasons that lead owners to create a profile on Instagram, for example, their pet are very numerous, although they may fall too much in that of ‘humanize‘ to the animals.
Dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets … have become a guarantee of success on these social platforms with millions of videos and photos that do not stop adding likes and followers. The owners share the evolution of their pets since they are puppies and teach their followers how they grow and the experiences they share together. What was born as a mere entertainment, has now become a whole phenomenon and a real business and many of those pets have even more followers in networks than their own owners.
In Spain, pets move more than 1,200 million euros, is the fifth European market. Brands know this and have seen in these profiles on social networks a perfect advertising channel as is already the case with influencers. Many brands, from those that sell food to those that market all kinds of accessories for them, contact the owners of these animals, reach an agreement and there is an exchange between the product and advertising with a post on networks. Thus, they make them all celebrities: ‘petfluencers’.
One of the most positive aspects of this class of ‘influencers’ is that the contents are not usually perceived as advertising, they attract all types of public and as a general rule the hidden it is usually lower than working with human influencers. Jiffpom is the dog with the most followers on the internet, a Pomeranian who lives in Los Angeles and has more than 10 million followers on instagram. He has his own YouTube channel and articles on merchandising. Jiffpom has stopped being a dog to act almost as if he were a person: he dresses in the latest fashion, shakes hands, he signs autographs and imitates all kinds of human gestures, as well as skateboarding or walking on two of its four legs.
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The queen of felines domestic, registered by the World Records Guiness as the cat that has accumulated the most followers, she is the American Nala Vat, with 4.3 million on Instagram. In her successful profile, she can be seen advertising food, posing with a spectacular carrier or publicizing the launch of his new book. Nala was taken in by a family when she was a puppy who had come to a shelter because her owners did not take care of her. Now it has become a brand and a real deal.
However, as with personal profiles, this with exceptions and not all pets become influencer, most profiles are anonymous and, beyond some specific collaboration or some discount, networks are only a space in which dump photos and videos of those animals. The funny thing is that nuance that most usually give it and that tries to pretend that they are the ones who manage their account on Facebook or Instagram. We return to the humanization. This is something that has become more and more common in recent years and can bring consequences for pets. From altering and distorting their language, preventing them from developing a life in accordance with their species and satisfying their demands to causing levels of chronic stress, anxiety, insecurity and fear; as well as damage to their physical health and loss of their zootechnical function.
Professionals consider that there are more people who humanize their pets due to their desire to take good care of them and express love and affection, but the lack of information and education towards the needs of the species makes them overprotect them and omit the biological requirements that they should give them. These people have the desire to understand the emotions of the animal, but they do it in the wrong way because they try to find an equivalent between their actions and those of the human. You have to find the line and differentiate between taking good care of them and humanizing them.
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