Bald eagle nesting pairs in the US

Bald eagle nesting pairs and the US dog treat and chew market grew in near-perfect lockstep between 2005 and 2021, with a 0.97 correlation that the American Eagle Foundation has not yet used in its fundraising materials but perhaps should consider. One imagines a nation so prosperous and environmentally conscientious that it is simultaneously rehabilitating its national bird and buying its dogs artisanal venison chews — which is, when you think about it, exactly the kind of country that would do both things for exactly the same reasons. The eagle, if it knew, might feel complicated about the chews.

Bald eagle nesting pairs grew from roughly 9,800 in 2005 to over 30,000 by 2019, a conservation success story driven by the 1972 DDT ban, Endangered Species Act protections, and sustained habitat preservation efforts. The US dog treat market grew from under $2 billion in the mid-2000s to over $6 billion by 2021, driven by pet humanization trends and premium product adoption. Both trends reflect growing American affluence and a cultural shift toward environmental and animal welfare investment, but the causal mechanisms are completely separate — one is a conservation outcome, the other is a consumer market. They share a demographic of caring Americans with rising disposable incomes.

A prosperous, environmentally engaged society will tend to protect its wildlife and spoil its pets simultaneously. The correlation is a compliment to the country, not a finding.