Pet food consumes at least nine per cent of all livestock around the world, rising to 20 per cent in countries with high levels of pet ownership, such as the US.
Veterinary Professor Andrew Knight and two colleagues analysed health outcomes for 2536 dogs, including 336 fed a vegan diet for at least one year.
Dogs fed vegan diets were less likely to need medication, medical diets or unusually high numbers of veterinary visits, were more likely to be assessed as healthy by dog owners and their veterinarians, had lower rates of illness, and fewer cases of health disorders when they were unwell.
Reductions ranged from 14 per cent to 51 per cent for average dogs, compared to dogs fed conventional meat-based diets.
In a release, the researchers said the difference in all those areas were “statistically significant”, meaning they were less likely to be random or within a margin of error.
Additionally, the odds of suffering from six specific health disorders fell by 50 per cent to 61 per cent compared to dogs fed conventional meat.
These included some of the most common health disorders in dogs, including problems with body weight, ears, and the musculoskeletal and gastrointestinal system – which can cause conditions such as lameness and diarrhoea.
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“Dogs fed vegan diets clearly had the best health outcomes in this very large-scale study, and these results are consistent with prior studies in this field,” Knight said.
“Nutritionally sound vegan diets offer extremely large environmental benefits, so this is very good news for dog owners who want to protect the environment whilst also maximising their dogs' health.
“However, care should always be taken to ensure diets are nutritionally-sound, by checking package labelling and purchasing from reputable pet food companies.”
The study, which was peer-reviewed, was party funded by food awareness organisation ProVeg International.
