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6.B - Ammonia emissions from pets
Short description
| NFR-Code | Name of category | Method | AD | EF | Key Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.A.2 | Ammonia emissions from pets | T1 | NS | D |
In addition to non-agricultural sources of ammonia (NH3), this chapter discusses emissions from domestic animals such as dogs and cats.
Methodology
The calculation of ammonia emissions in this area is made for the first time and is based on the methodological description of Sutton et al. (2000) 1)and the Guidebook 2023 2). For the complete time series, the emissions are calculated as follows:
EM = AD (number of pets) * EF (kg NH3 emission animal-1 year-1)
Activity data
There are no official statistics on pets in Germany. For this purpose, the data of a representative survey of 5000 -7000 households conducted on behalf of the German Pet Food Association (Industrieverband Heimtierbedarf e.V., IVH, and the Zentralverband Zoologischer Fachbetriebe Deutschlands e.V., ZZF)3) for the period 2012 - 2022 are used.
The latest guidebook refer to European statistics. The figures for 2021 and 2022 are consistent with those in the publication mentioned above and according to the guidebook 2023 only the main categories cats (39% by animal catory) and dogs (27% by animal catory) were considered. Time series for the main animal categories of pets are obtained by the numbers of the survey for the years 2012 until 2022. Data for 1990 are estimated retrospectively using the number of households (see also https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bevoelkerung/Haushalte-Familien/Tabellen/1-3-privathaushalte-neuer-zeitvergleich.html) and the trend between 1991 and 2013 (+13.9%) is accounted for as a baseline for 1990 animal numbers. The data for 1990 and 2012 are used to estimate the missing animal numbers of the inbetween years by linear interpolation. The following table shows the estimated pet population over time.
Table 1: Animal numbers in 106, as of 1990
| Cats | Dogs | |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 10.80 | 6.50 |
| 1995 | 11.16 | 6.71 |
| 2000 | 11.50 | 6.92 |
| 2005 | 11.83 | 7.12 |
| 2010 | 12.17 | 7.32 |
| 2011 | 12.23 | 7.36 |
| 2012 | 12.30 | 7.40 |
| 2013 | 11.50 | 6.90 |
| 2014 | 11.80 | 6.80 |
| 2015 | 12.90 | 7.90 |
| 2016 | 13.40 | 8.60 |
| 2017 | 13.70 | 9.20 |
| 2018 | 14.80 | 9.40 |
| 2019 | 14.70 | 10.10 |
| 2020 | 15.70 | 10.70 |
| 2021 | 16.70 | 10.30 |
| 2022 | 15.20 | 10.60 |
Emission factors
For the calculation of ammonia emissions in this category, the mean (best estimate) of the emission factors given in Sutton et al. (2000) are used (EF cats: 0.11 kg NH3-N animal-1 year-1, EF dogs: 0.61 kg NH3-N animal-1 year-1). The emission factors were converted to the amount of ammonia using the stoichiometric factor (17/14).
Emission Trend
The following figure shows the development of emissions by pet category dogs (EMDog) and cats (EMCat). In recent years, an increasing trend can be observed, resulting in a mean value of NH3 emissions of 9.92 kt/a (mean value between 2020 to 2022). This corresponds to a share of total ammonia emissions in the 2023 reporting of about XX%. Especially since the Corona year 2020, more people have acquired pets such as dogs.
Figure 1: NFR 6.A, Ammonia emissions from pets
Recalculations
No specific recalculations occur against the previous submission.
Uncertainties
For pets the uncertainty of the animal numbers is assumed to be 5 % (standard error), and hence 10 % for half the 95 % confidence interval, with normal distribution. The uncertainties for the emission factors are estimated to be relatively high, as emission factors vary between different sources and the amount of ammonia volatilized is based on an assumption. There is no information on the uncertainty of the emission factors. Therefore, the German inventory assumes that this uncertainty is 50 % for half the 95 % confidence interval (normal distribution).
Planned Improvement
Currently, no improvements are planned.