September 19, 2025 • 8 mins
It can be difficult for people to live sustainably – but what about animals? Is it possible to own a pet and still be sustainable?
Kate Hall tackles the question, offering up a few pieces of advice for pet care that takes sustainability into question.
- Choosing pet food: consider brands using by-products or sustainable protein sources (like Feed My Fur Baby).
- Compostable poo bags (plus a reusable system I used to have for my dog that involves a little glass jar!) or training cats with eco-friendly/paper litter.
- Buy second-hand pet gear where possible (toys, beds, crates). There is SO much out there.
- Think about your pet’s impact on local wildlife (especially cats and dogs around native species).
- Considering if you truly have a lifestyle that will mean the animal will thrive - most people have apartment spaces, so a dog share situation could work better.
- Pets bring joy and small choices in how we care for them can make a big difference.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
There'd be how sustainability commentator Kate Hall is focusing on
a bit of a curious subject this weekend, sustainable pet ownership,
and Kate's with us this morning, Kilder.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Good morning.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Do you know at first, Blush, I would have thought
that being a pet owner having a pet isn't a
very sustainable thing to do.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Mama, right, you are right, depending on how you do it, right,
it's just fight with everything. Yeah, it depends on how
you're going to manage their care, how you know where
you going to buy things from, and also depends on
what type of lifestyle you have and where you live
in the world. Yes, the nuanced complex thing. I have
(00:55):
written a blog before called why you Shouldn't own a pet?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Do you own a pet?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I currently have a Coca tile who lives somewhere out
with someone else, and I would never recommend anyone to
get a bird. Yeah, yeah, he's eighteen years old.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Oh my gosh. Yeah, but don't like some parents live
till they're like fifty, don't yees.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, yep, he's a cockataile. So their average life then
is around twenty to twenty five.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
So, oh my gosh, it's a real commitment.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
With me over half yeah, well over half my oh
my life. So I love, I adore animals like they're
a huge part of my life. But I think there's
different ways that we need to really focus on, not
just thinking about the waste that they produce, but also
just are we to get up to have an animal
and for it to thrive because we just overlooked the
(01:54):
opportunity to do things like dog share and you know,
like kind of share animals and gives them a much
bit of life rather than them staying at home for
in an apartment.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Yeah that's a very good Okay, So let's talk through
some of your top tips for sustainable pet ownership. Number
one choosing pet food.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yes, so not all pet food is created equally obviously,
so consider brands that use things like the buy products
of the animal or just general sustainable protein sources. When
I had a dog, I said him feed my Third Baby,
which is a really great New Zealand brand, and that's
what I found to be the most sustainable option here
(02:33):
in New Zealand. I'm not so sure about that, but
even asking you can ask your vet. I mean, my
dad is a very sustainable vet' he's a good one
to talk to. But if you ask those questions, they
should be able to answer them because you know they're
you're a customer and you're able to ask those things.
So thinking about what you give them. I know that
(02:53):
one of my friends has a little griffin, and the
griffin basically eats a whole lot of possum meat from
the possums that are caught in the wild forest.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
So that's quite a good idea. Yeah, I mean not
even we'll be able to do it. Yeah, that is
quite a good idea. Okay, I know that before you
have surprised and delighted us with your description for what
you do with dog poop, which involves a jar, which
is very eco friendly. But if we're one hundred percent honest,
probably a bit further than most people will go. Yeah,
(03:24):
so what else can you do?
Speaker 3 (03:27):
So reusing things like if you have a bread bag,
you know it's pastic bread bags or chip packers or
something like that, If that's already going in the bin,
then using that as a great solution. Also, you know
free it's rubbish. You can do things like a hole
in your garden if you do have a garden, and
(03:49):
use that kind of as a little dog poop compost
so that you're not just putting a whole od of
poop in the bin, which is not ideal. My mum
uses compostible dog poop bags, but she double uses them,
so she kind of gets a lot of use out
of them.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
So she doesn't double bag. She uses them once and
then she uses them again.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So when I when I know that there's a bag,
I always have to ask her is this son being used?
So I don't use the wrong side.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Yeah, I was going to say that it feels like
it's dangerous territory.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
But she does it very well and very hygenically, and
so I think that's awesome too, because simple things like
that mean that you're just you know, you can have
your waist it come.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
You want to make sure if you your mum, don't
you that you're not there's not too much of a
break between drinks because because because you know, they start
to compost quite quickly the moment they're exposed to moisture
are they start to compost quite quick And I feel
like that's, yeah, that's your mom's a.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Break than I would do walking twice a day unbeet.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Yeah right, okay, yeah, and the breed bag is a
good one. My dad walks a dog and this is
going to be a disgusting need limits for everyone, but
he loves to get a breed bag out scoop up
whatever needs to scoop up, and then he ties it
to the back of his backpack as he walks, and
so as he sort of tries from side to side,
it swings as he's walking, which is just like absolutely
(05:12):
disgusting and so embarrassing as kids, but very sustainable, you know,
yeah it is.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
It's brilliant. We should all be more like them.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Yeah, anyway, what about like crates and clothes and coats
for dogs, little booties.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Things like that.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
There's so much pete stuff you can buy these days,
but I suppose, like a good second hand market day.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
There are a huge sicken hand markets for dogs and cats.
When we had a dog, I genuinely never bought any
of that stuff new because there was just so much
out there on trade nets, place a marketplace. Even if
you just mentioned to a friend, they probably have an
old crate that's wrapped in their garage, so you really,
(05:55):
really don't need to buy anything new, even the toys.
I made it like tag Awad toy out of old
clothes and underwear. And same with the dog there. Dogwigs
can be you know, of dollars and we have some
cool sustainable beds New Zealand made out there. But you
can just cut up your old clothes and use it
to stuff, you know, kind of the cushion thing. So,
(06:18):
I mean, I know people want the best of their animals,
and it can be tempting. I want to buy all
the fancy things, but the secondhand stuff can be just
as good, you know, it's not better, and make your
money stretch a lot further.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Yeah, that's a great message. And I think a really
obvious thing that has often overlooked is just to consider
the impact that your peter is having on the environment.
This is the thing with cats, Like it just kills
me when I see a cat roaming free without a
bell or anything like that, because I'm like, you know,
like think of all of the native birds we have
here and even catanders. They don't want to see their
(06:53):
cat bringing home birds and stuff, you know.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
No, So yeah, it's again thinking about in my situation,
can I maybe you know, I know a lot of
people who really hear about the environments and have lots
of beautiful native birds around and so their cat is
an indoor cat, and you know, choosing a species that
is going to be okay with that, and just really
considering your situation, because I think we can get quite
(07:19):
selfish when it comes to pets and we can forget
that actually an animal has certain needs and if you
can't meet them here in New Zealand or yeah, just
in your kind of usual lifestyle set up, in your
work demands, and it's probably best that you are to
walk your neighbor's dog, you know, do something like that.
Like for us, we don't have a dog anymore and
(07:41):
we kind of co own in away my parents' dogs
and it just yeah, it makes it so so much better.
And the little things when you're walking along the beach
and you see corned off spaces for different protected birds,
actually listening to those rather than thinking, oh, my dog
doesn't chase birds, Like putting your dogs on a lead.
(08:02):
That's so so important.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Absolutely, I think so much. Kate really appreciate it. Kate
Hall is our sustainability commentator. You can find her on
social media just search ethically, Kate and her smiling face
will pop right up, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, Listen live
to News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack Teams podcast
from News Talks.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
There'd be how sustainability commentator Kate Hall is focusing on
a bit of a curious subject this weekend, sustainable pet ownership,
and Kate's with us this morning, Kilder.
Speaker 3 (00:23):
Good morning.
Speaker 4 (00:23):
Do you know at first, Blush, I would have thought
that being a pet owner having a pet isn't a
very sustainable thing to do.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Mama, right, you are right, depending on how you do it, right,
it's just fight with everything. Yeah, it depends on how
you're going to manage their care, how you know where
you going to buy things from, and also depends on
what type of lifestyle you have and where you live
in the world. Yes, the nuanced complex thing. I have
(00:55):
written a blog before called why you Shouldn't own a pet?
Speaker 4 (01:01):
Do you own a pet?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
I currently have a Coca tile who lives somewhere out
with someone else, and I would never recommend anyone to
get a bird. Yeah, yeah, he's eighteen years old.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Oh my gosh. Yeah, but don't like some parents live
till they're like fifty, don't yees.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Yeah, yep, he's a cockataile. So their average life then
is around twenty to twenty five.
Speaker 4 (01:30):
So, oh my gosh, it's a real commitment.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
With me over half yeah, well over half my oh
my life. So I love, I adore animals like they're
a huge part of my life. But I think there's
different ways that we need to really focus on, not
just thinking about the waste that they produce, but also
just are we to get up to have an animal
and for it to thrive because we just overlooked the
(01:54):
opportunity to do things like dog share and you know,
like kind of share animals and gives them a much
bit of life rather than them staying at home for
in an apartment.
Speaker 4 (02:05):
Yeah that's a very good Okay, So let's talk through
some of your top tips for sustainable pet ownership. Number
one choosing pet food.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Yes, so not all pet food is created equally obviously,
so consider brands that use things like the buy products
of the animal or just general sustainable protein sources. When
I had a dog, I said him feed my Third Baby,
which is a really great New Zealand brand, and that's
what I found to be the most sustainable option here
(02:33):
in New Zealand. I'm not so sure about that, but
even asking you can ask your vet. I mean, my
dad is a very sustainable vet' he's a good one
to talk to. But if you ask those questions, they
should be able to answer them because you know they're
you're a customer and you're able to ask those things.
So thinking about what you give them. I know that
(02:53):
one of my friends has a little griffin, and the
griffin basically eats a whole lot of possum meat from
the possums that are caught in the wild forest.
Speaker 4 (03:02):
So that's quite a good idea. Yeah, I mean not
even we'll be able to do it. Yeah, that is
quite a good idea. Okay, I know that before you
have surprised and delighted us with your description for what
you do with dog poop, which involves a jar, which
is very eco friendly. But if we're one hundred percent honest,
probably a bit further than most people will go. Yeah,
(03:24):
so what else can you do?
Speaker 3 (03:27):
So reusing things like if you have a bread bag,
you know it's pastic bread bags or chip packers or
something like that, If that's already going in the bin,
then using that as a great solution. Also, you know
free it's rubbish. You can do things like a hole
in your garden if you do have a garden, and
(03:49):
use that kind of as a little dog poop compost
so that you're not just putting a whole od of
poop in the bin, which is not ideal. My mum
uses compostible dog poop bags, but she double uses them,
so she kind of gets a lot of use out
of them.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
So she doesn't double bag. She uses them once and
then she uses them again.
Speaker 3 (04:12):
So when I when I know that there's a bag,
I always have to ask her is this son being used?
So I don't use the wrong side.
Speaker 4 (04:19):
Yeah, I was going to say that it feels like
it's dangerous territory.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
But she does it very well and very hygenically, and
so I think that's awesome too, because simple things like
that mean that you're just you know, you can have
your waist it come.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
You want to make sure if you your mum, don't
you that you're not there's not too much of a
break between drinks because because because you know, they start
to compost quite quickly the moment they're exposed to moisture
are they start to compost quite quick And I feel
like that's, yeah, that's your mom's a.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Break than I would do walking twice a day unbeet.
Speaker 4 (04:49):
Yeah right, okay, yeah, and the breed bag is a
good one. My dad walks a dog and this is
going to be a disgusting need limits for everyone, but
he loves to get a breed bag out scoop up
whatever needs to scoop up, and then he ties it
to the back of his backpack as he walks, and
so as he sort of tries from side to side,
it swings as he's walking, which is just like absolutely
(05:12):
disgusting and so embarrassing as kids, but very sustainable, you know,
yeah it is.
Speaker 3 (05:16):
It's brilliant. We should all be more like them.
Speaker 4 (05:18):
Yeah, anyway, what about like crates and clothes and coats
for dogs, little booties.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Things like that.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
There's so much pete stuff you can buy these days,
but I suppose, like a good second hand market day.
Speaker 3 (05:34):
There are a huge sicken hand markets for dogs and cats.
When we had a dog, I genuinely never bought any
of that stuff new because there was just so much
out there on trade nets, place a marketplace. Even if
you just mentioned to a friend, they probably have an
old crate that's wrapped in their garage, so you really,
(05:55):
really don't need to buy anything new, even the toys.
I made it like tag Awad toy out of old
clothes and underwear. And same with the dog there. Dogwigs
can be you know, of dollars and we have some
cool sustainable beds New Zealand made out there. But you
can just cut up your old clothes and use it
to stuff, you know, kind of the cushion thing. So,
(06:18):
I mean, I know people want the best of their animals,
and it can be tempting. I want to buy all
the fancy things, but the secondhand stuff can be just
as good, you know, it's not better, and make your
money stretch a lot further.
Speaker 4 (06:30):
Yeah, that's a great message. And I think a really
obvious thing that has often overlooked is just to consider
the impact that your peter is having on the environment.
This is the thing with cats, Like it just kills
me when I see a cat roaming free without a
bell or anything like that, because I'm like, you know,
like think of all of the native birds we have
here and even catanders. They don't want to see their
(06:53):
cat bringing home birds and stuff, you know.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
No, So yeah, it's again thinking about in my situation,
can I maybe you know, I know a lot of
people who really hear about the environments and have lots
of beautiful native birds around and so their cat is
an indoor cat, and you know, choosing a species that
is going to be okay with that, and just really
considering your situation, because I think we can get quite
(07:19):
selfish when it comes to pets and we can forget
that actually an animal has certain needs and if you
can't meet them here in New Zealand or yeah, just
in your kind of usual lifestyle set up, in your
work demands, and it's probably best that you are to
walk your neighbor's dog, you know, do something like that.
Like for us, we don't have a dog anymore and
(07:41):
we kind of co own in away my parents' dogs
and it just yeah, it makes it so so much better.
And the little things when you're walking along the beach
and you see corned off spaces for different protected birds,
actually listening to those rather than thinking, oh, my dog
doesn't chase birds, Like putting your dogs on a lead.
(08:02):
That's so so important.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
Absolutely, I think so much. Kate really appreciate it. Kate
Hall is our sustainability commentator. You can find her on
social media just search ethically, Kate and her smiling face
will pop right up, no doubt.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, Listen live
to News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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