Plans to lobby parliament on the mental health benefits of horse ownership *H&H Plus*

Mental health

The Blue Cross is to work with charities and the government to promote the benefits of animal ownership on mental health.

The pet charity has published a report on the role animals can play in society, and the barriers to ownership some people face.

Experts on welfare, mental health and loneliness spoke at the launch of the report, on 28 November, the aim of which was to “address how society can benefit from pet ownership and animal interactions and to call for any government to recognise the positive impact animals can have”.

The Blue Cross’s Becky Thwaites told H&H the report is a “conversation-starter”.

“We wanted to gather evidence to prove that animals really have a part to play in society,” she said.

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