An analysis made by María Alonso, of the Efe agency, based on data from the INE population census and the territorialized figures managed by the National Association of Pet Food Manufacturers (Anfaac) places Asturias, Aragon and Castile and Leon as the three autonomous communities with the most dogs per inhabitant. It is estimated that in these three territories there are at least three dogs for every ten people.
They are followed by Galicia (2.5 dogs for every ten humans), the Valencian Community (2.4), Andalusia (2.3), Murcia (2.1), Extremadura and the Balearic Islands (2). At the other extreme, the territories where the ownership of dogs as pets has decreased the least (or at least where they do not appear in the Anfaac figures) is La Rioja (0.3 dogs for every ten inhabitants), the Basque Country (0.6) and Navarre (0.7). In Catalonia, the ratio is 1.6 and in Madrid, 1.4.
With figures from 2021, the latest available, Spain had 47,307,133 registered people and 9,280,821 dogs. The canine population therefore exceeds the child population, because the number of people under 14 at that time was 6,654,130. This reality, that in Spain there are more dogs than children (almost one and a half dogs per child), has long been observed in the streets, squares and parks of towns and cities. Now the figures compiled by Efe confirm that this is the case in practically all the autonomous communities. In Asturias, Galicia and Castile and Leon (the oldest regions of Spain), where else.
In fact, in Asturias, the number of dogs living there triples that of children under 14: 352,229 dogs and 106,861 animals.
On the contrary, in the streets of La Rioja, Navarra and the Basque Country, there are still many more children playing than dogs, and in Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid the numbers are quite equal, but the former are still favored. In the Madrid community, for example, there are 963,058 dogs and 992,013 children under the age of 14.
The fact that the municipalities with the highest number of dogs are precisely the oldest and with the lowest fertility rates supports the arguments of those who, such as Doctor of Philosophy and Education Sciences Jaume Bentulà, believe that the increase in the number of households with dogs in Spain it has a lot to do with the drop in the birth rate. "One of the consequences of not having children at home is the increase in loneliness and the desire to alleviate it by sharing time and space with an animal", he explained a few months ago to La Vanguardia when he spoke about the impact of the lack of child population.
The change in the social landscape that leads to the lower presence of children and the increase in the number of domestic animals leads to transformations in multiple areas, from urban planning (the equipment needed in cities changes) to the values of society ( living with children requires tolerance, patience, sacrifice, ductility...), through relationships.
Regarding these circumstances, the sociologist Eduardo Bericat warns that indestructible bonds are disappearing.
"The bond between parents and children is the only one that remains until the death of the parties, while marriage or friendship are contingent, they are linked to subjectivity and the relationship is maintained as long as it is satisfactory to both parts; therefore, the fact that there are fewer and fewer children and less maternal or paternal bonds means that primary relationships (those that are imposed, such as the family) have practically disappeared and almost all the relationships we maintain today are chosen", he explained when he asked this newspaper.
