Wild Animals And Other Companion Animals Kept In Costa Rican Households
A 2003 survey of Costa Rican households found that about 71% kept animals, including dogs (53%), cats (15%), and other wild species (24%).
This survey of 1,021 Costa Rican households found that 71% of total households kept some type of animal. While two-thirds of all households maintained the usual domestic animals, nearly one-quarter (24%) kept other wild species as companion animals. Parrots which conservatively numbered about 151,288, comprised the majority of these wild species, and more than half of respondents say they have kept a psittacid at some point in their lives.
The proportion of households that kept exclusively domestic species was about 47%, while the proportion of households that kept exclusively wild species was 5%. In addition, nearly 19% of households said they kept both domestic and wild species. Dogs, chickens, and cats were the most frequently maintained animal within Costa Rican households.