Amazon says technology that allows pets to talk to their owners is less than a decade away

Technology that allows pets to communicate with their owners could be available within ten years, a report backed by Amazon has said.

Researchers believe pet translators are just around the corner, which could permit people to decipher their animals’ various miaows and woofs.

Futurologist William Higham from Next Big Thing, who co-authored the report for Amazon, told The Guardian the technology is only ten years away.

‘Somebody is going to put this together,’ he said. ‘Innovative products that succeed are based around a genuine and major consumer needs.

Read more from Yahoo News UK

British Muslim teen ‘kidnapped, raped and murdered for dating Arab Muslim’

TV star admits to ‘setting up accidents to teach his toddlers a lesson’

Yazidi girl held captive by Isis reveals she was raped every day for six months

American doctor was ‘wicked’ to give Charlie Gard’s patents false hope

‘The amount of money now spent on pets – they are becoming fur babies to so many people – means there is huge consumer demand for this.’

Meanwhile, Con Slobodchikoff, a professor at Northern Arizona University and author of Chasing Doctor Dolittle: Learning the Language of Animals, has used software to analyse prairie dog calls.

He found they have ‘a sophisticated communication system that has all the aspects of language’ and believes other animals use a similar method.

He is trying to raise money to develop a translator for cats and dogs.

He told The Guardian: ‘So many people would dearly love to talk to their dog or cat or at least find out what they are trying to communicate.

‘A lot of people talk to their dogs and share their innermost secrets.

‘With cats I’m not sure what they’d have to say. A lot of times it might just be, “You idiot, just feed me and leave me alone”.’