Pet Animals vs. Domestic Animals
Key Differences
Comparison Chart
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Bond
Relationship with households
Diseases
Belongs to
Pet Animals vs. Domestic Animals
Pets are the animals which are adapted to live with us for pleasure, company or entertainment etc. while domestic animals are those which are kept for the economic purpose, i.e. to get a benefit like for milk or meat etc. There is no personal attachment of owner with them. All pets cannot be domesticated while all domestic animals can be pets.
What are Pet Animals?
The word pet has been used since the 1500s to refer to animal companions. So, pets are the animals which have adapted to live with us either as a companion or for pleasure. The purpose of keeping a pet or pets is mainly to provide company, fun, and entertainment etc. that owners find in their attractive animals. They only used for recreation not for economic purposes. Wild animals that are obedient to human can easily become a pet, but mostly they are scared of humans because they consider them their predators. The wild animal should demonstrate great obedience to become a domestic one, and in the case of pets, it requires even more than obedience, i.e. a strong social bond. They have a strong relationship with their owners. According to medical research, pets have relieving effects on stress. So, they used as a medical therapy. Pets have names, kept in our homes, sleeping on our furniture etc. and may cause multiple zoonotic diseases (diseases that spread from animals to humans) like dander, allergies and even life-threatening diseases like rabies etc. So, proper care and management like routine medical checkups of pets are required to control such problems. Pets protect their owners and may be dangerous to strangers. They may attack strangers to protect their owner. They have the widest boundary and belong to almost every phylum of kingdom Animalia. Most important pet animals are cats and dogs and sometimes even snakes and crocodiles etc.
What are Domestic Animals?
Word “Domestic” derived from a Latin word “Domus” which means home or house. It is related to that animal that has adapted to fit in homes or houses with humans. Humans have domesticated many wild animals for useful purposes or their economic benefits. They have conditioned to be comfortable around humans and provide us with food like meat, eggs etc. and even carry loads from one place to another. Their relationship with their owners is not as strong as of pets. Mainly, they are not involved in spreading zoonotic diseases because usually, they are not in direct contact with humans, i.e. they are kept slightly away from man’s living places or furniture etc. Even humans have genetically modified domestic animals through selective breeding to get more benefits economically, e.g. many breeds of cows have been developed that can give more milk and good quality meat. They rarely attack humans unless provoked especially when the mother is protecting her babies. Domestic animals have a slightly narrow boundary in kingdom Animalia as compared to pets. They mostly belong to Phylum Chordates, e.g. hens, horses, and cattle etc.
