Gen Z Is Being Forced To Give Up Their Pets Over Costs [Video]

Gen Z is being forced to give up their pets due to financial concerns, a new study from LendingTree found.

Across the country, 12 percent of Americans said they had surrendered a pet because they could no longer afford to take care of it. For Gen Z, that was a much more substantial number at 25 percent.

Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, said the prevailing idea has been that Gen Z is choosing pets over kids due to cost concerns. But the study shows that even pet ownership may be out of reach for many Gen Z-ers.

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“When considering a pet purchase, most think only of food expenses,” Beene told Newsweek. “They fail to put in medical care, grooming, and most importantly daycare services if they have to leave town and need a facility to …