The survey included respondents from a variety of age groups and income levels, with most falling into the millennial category and making less than $50k annually.
Safety and efficacy attitudes before vs after administering CBD
Before giving their pets CBD, 20% of respondents said they were concerned about the efficacy. After giving CBD a try, 56% said it was no longer an issue. When it comes to safety, 61% of the participants voiced safety concerns prior to administering CBD to their pets. But after using it, 40% said they were no longer concerned. Another key takeaway from the survey is that 63% of respondents indicated they tried other medications before trialing CBD on their pets. Of that 63%, over 80% agreed that CBD was more effective and safer, respectively.
Following the positive experience, 9 out of 10 participants said they would recommend CBD for pets to others. “The biggest surprise was the relatively large percentage of respondents who started using CBD oil for pets on the recommendation of friends and family (50.45),” noted AmericanMarijuana.org editor-in-chief Dwight K. Blake. “This statistic suggests that people who use CBD oil for pets have seen its benefits enough to recommend it to those close to them. Another exciting finding in the study further reinforces the trend where satisfied users recommend CBD oil for pets; over 90% of participants in this survey recommend using the oil to others.”
Veterinarian attitudes
When it comes to vet visits, 35% of participants said their vets advised them to use CBD on their pets and 11% said that their vets overly advertised CBD for pets to them. Only 10% of respondents said their vets doubted the efficacy of CBD for pets, while 24% remained neutral.
Blake, who authored the survey, said there are two possible reasons why some vets would be too persistent in their advertisement of CBD products for pets. “One of these reasons is when a vet is fully convinced that CBD is effective in keeping pets healthy. CBD is a relatively new supplement, and people are generally careful about new things. Therefore, a convinced vet may become a bit too insistent as they urge the pet owner to take a chance and use this relatively unknown product.”
Another reason is the almighty dollar. “A vet may appear to be too enthusiastic in advertising CBD if they have a deal with a manufacturer of CBD products for the vet to recommend their products. If stocking them in their clinic increases their income that would give them the drive to be aggressive. Of course, the vet, being a professional, would first verify the quality of the products.”
As CBD pet products continue to energize the pet industry, veterinarians are seeing a jump in interest among clients in using these products for their pets. Despite the regulatory uncertainty, it’s important for veterinarians to be educated in the area.
Although COVID-19 has affected their finances, 36% of the respondents reported that they are still willing to buy CBD for pets post-pandemic. If this statistic is any indication, the interest in CBD is here to stay.
The booming CBD market
With nearly 91% of respondents indicating their readiness to recommend CBD for pets to others, Blake said this number is significant. “I believe the reason why they are willing to recommend CBD is that they are satisfied with the outcomes of using it. It proved the fears to be unfounded. In other words, CBD showed itself to be better than many users thought it was, and thus almost 91% of them would recommend it.”
With the increasing consumer awareness of CBD and the current spotlight on it’s medical and therapeutic benefits, VeterinaryCannabis.org cautions vets: “Saying nothing may no longer be viable.”
According to the 2020 Pet Industry Green Paper by Nielsen and Headset, hemp-based CBD pet products are expected to represent 3-5% of all hemp CBD sales in the US by 2025. Furthermore, their joint projections show that the pet sector may yield one of the highest conversion rates within the CPG industry — 37%.
