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I often seek solace in my adopted African pygmy hedgehog after a long day of attending events, meeting people and writing articles on a tight deadline. Before rescuing him from an animal center, I never thought about taking care of a pet in Hong Kong. But I’m not alone.
The population of cats and dogs here jumped to 584,400 last year from 549,100 in 2018, according to market research provider Euromonitor International, while in Singapore it grew by nearly 8 percent to 207,400.
The industry has also battled China’s economic slowdown. China’s pet market grew to an estimated $13.6bn in sales last year, up from $6.9bn in 2018. In Hong Kong it grew to $1.2bn in 2023 from $0.8bn in 2018, according to Euromonitor, while the number of veterinarians has doubled in the past decade.
Many of my friends here got pets as they were rethinking having children, due to the high cost of raising them, a political crackdown on the education system with the new “national security” curriculum and others more lifestyle choices, including housing in a crowded city.
But, while not as expensive as children, pets also come at a price. A regular health check-up at the exotic pet vet costs more than HK$1,500 ($192) each time. My hedgehog’s food, snacks, bedding materials and grooming services can cost hundreds of Hong Kong dollars per month, not to mention possible surgery and extra care as he gets older. Pet medical insurance is booming, mainly for cats and dogs but also turtles, tortoises, and birds – though not yet for hedgehogs.
“Pet health care can cost as much as private health care for people,” said Zoe Cheng, managing partner of IAM Wealth, an insurance brokerage. A dog undergoing surgery for pancreatitis, for example, can cost more than HK$30,000.
“This is one of the sectors where [people] will be more reluctant to cut spending,” Jacky Lui, a Hong Kong partner at PwC, told me. PwC estimates that there will be around 120mn pet dogs and cats in mainland China by 2023. “Despite covid lockdowns, we see continued growth in pet ownership and adoption.” Lui added, social media influencers also have an impact.
Strong growth is expected over the next two years in pet food, accessories and healthcare, he said, with increased numbers of younger first-time owners making it one of the fastest-growing consumer goods sectors.
This is true for the global multibillion-dollar petcare market as a whole. A Bloomberg Intelligence report last year estimated it could dip from $320bn to nearly $500bn globally by the end of the decade. While the US and Europe are among the largest markets, it has also expanded rapidly in Asia over the past decade, where lower fertility rates remain a possible contributor to stronger growth.
Hong Kong now has the highest per capita spending on pets among major cities and regions in the Asia-Pacific, according to Euromonitor data. At a pet fair here in January, Barbie-like clothes, supplements and probiotics, and cooked-to-order fresh food like “grass-fed lamb” were on display.
Cats and dogs can also holiday on chartered private jets through specialist travel agencies. A one-week trip to Tokyo from Hong Kong can cost at least HK$159,000 for each pet and owner. May Hung and Jonathan Wong, both administration professionals, are planning a plane trip to Osaka with their 11-year-old toy poodle this fall. “Just Bear Bear [her pet] happy, we are happy,” Hung told me.
But there is a sad side to this picture. Animal abandonment cases in Singapore will nearly triple year-on-year by 2023, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They have also been on the rise in Hong Kong since 2020, says the Rescue Center For Abandoned Pets. This is partly due to an exodus of residents to the UK, Canada and elsewhere fueled by Beijing’s clampdown, with many leaving their pets behind.
Although the sale and purchase of hedgehogs is illegal in my city, at least 13 pet hedgehogs were abandoned in August last year alone, according to the Hong Kong Hedgehog Association. Mine is among those found in 2022. It’s fun to read updates by new adopters like me while my pet, asleep in my arms, smiles slightly.
