Pet business reaches Bt40 billion as people indulge their darlings

By The Nation

 

 

The pet business in Thailand has quietly grown to worth up to Bt40 billion in economic value, growing at least 10 per cent yearly, as owners indulge their pets with food and services.

 

Nantaphon Tantiwongampai, the vice president of the Thai Pet Products Industry Association, predicted pet-related businesses would likely experience continuous growth.

 

Despite various risks including to the economy the market has not been affected, he said. The market for pet dogs and cats alone is now worth nearly Bt40 billion yearly, with an average growth of not less than 10 per cent per year, with food products taking up a big share of its growth.

 

The behaviour of Thai animal lovers has changed, he said, as they tend to look after and pay attention to every detail for their pet, treating them much like their own child, including for food, clothing and medical care. The pet in Thailand has become a family member rather than just a housekeeper.

 

The population of cats in Thailand has now reached 4 million, almost double the 2.2 million of six years ago, while the dog population is growing by 10 per cent yearly. Thai people are interested in raising small dogs rather than large dogs, he said.

 

The average spend on pets around the world is at 3-5 per cent of household income, with the spending on food and services even higher among families that do not have children.

 

Also adding to the pet market in Thailand is exports, with most customers located in Asia, including in China, Korea, and Hong Kong, as well as in neighbouring countries such as Laos, Myanmar and Malaysia.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30376890

 

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-09-30

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I pamper my 2, 3 or 4 cats by feeding them. I am not sure if there are 3 or 4 because the last 2 are from the last litter.

 

They are outside cats and are not allowed in the house or kitchen.

 

The grandma cat wandered in several years ago from somewhere which started the kitten game but the survival rate from a litter is usually quite low.

 

Edited September 30, 20196 yr by billd766
edited for bad spelling after I had posted, again.

Yeh, clearly. This dog in my village got the works done to it. It's never had it so good! ????

56 minutes ago, webfact said:

The behaviour of Thai animal lovers has changed, he said, as they tend to look after and pay attention to every detail for their pet, treating them much like their own child, including for food, clothing and medical care. The pet in Thailand has become a family member rather than just a housekeeper.

Do people who put clothes on their animals love them?

Do people who give them "snacks" with strawberries and other human deserts love them?

When I go to pet shops it seems more than half of their products are best case useless and more likely bad for the pets.

But so called animal lovers buy all that <deleted>.

 

Maybe someone should ask all those animal lovers how much time they spent learning about natural behavior of all those pets. Do they like to be alone or together with other animals? What is their natural food? Are they supposed to sit in a cage or room or are the supposed to run around outside? It seems many pet owner don't know and don't care. But obviously they think they love their pets...

 

 

Mr Bigglesworth!

Just love to see someone craving attention with a fluffy dog in a stroller ,posing for selfieswith anyone who asks....the thai way to walk your dog...

47 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Do people who put clothes on their animals love them?

Do people who give them "snacks" with strawberries and other human deserts love them?

When I go to pet shops it seems more than half of their products are best case useless and more likely bad for the pets.

But so called animal lovers buy all that <deleted>.

 

Maybe someone should ask all those animal lovers how much time they spent learning about natural behavior of all those pets. Do they like to be alone or together with other animals? What is their natural food? Are they supposed to sit in a cage or room or are the supposed to run around outside? It seems many pet owner don't know and don't care. But obviously they think they love their pets...

 

 

The look on that cat's face means you don't have to ask.

Being a pet owner and having to put down a pet I would like to open a pet cemetery, but wonder if Thai people would use the burial and or cremation services. Any positive thoughts on that. It would be in Korat, just outside the city. 

8 minutes ago, Colabamumbai said:

Being a pet owner and having to put down a pet I would like to open a pet cemetery, but wonder if Thai people would use the burial and or cremation services. Any positive thoughts on that. It would be in Korat, just outside the city. 

Believe there is one in BKK.

Check in the pets section in tv forums.

Edited September 30, 20196 yr by overherebc

Pity the nationals who get a pet, then in a month lose interest ( mainly dogs) so they let them loose into the streets. We have found many strays and manage to coax neighbours into raising them.

and still, dangerous strays are not put down

The behaviour of Thai animal lovers has changed, he said, as they tend to look after and pay attention to every detail for their pet, treating them much like their own child, including for food, clothing and medical care. The pet in Thailand has become a family member rather than just a housekeeper

 

Far from true. Overall, in Thailand, dogs and cats are treated very badly. Left to roam outside on the streets and live off scraps from the kitchen. Just travel upcountry and see the packs of dogs roaming around in villages. 

43 minutes ago, Colabamumbai said:

Being a pet owner and having to put down a pet I would like to open a pet cemetery, but wonder if Thai people would use the burial and or cremation services. Any positive thoughts on that. It would be in Korat, just outside the city. 

Yeah, thais do that. We cremated our last dog. Basically the vet who put him to sleep mentioned the service, made the call, and 30 minutes later a lady came by and put the puppy (40kg) in the back of the pickup truck. Two days later we picked up the ashes at the vet again.

 

On request you can get it filmed, be there while it happens, or whatever more to make sure they dont give the leftovers of their last bbq.

Here in Issan I walk my dog twice a day for at least an hour each time. These are some of my observations:-

 

1/ Many Thai owners will take their dogs on scooters to a play area which is a short walk away. Why not walk them and let the dog exercise.

2/ They put clothing on the dog when the temperatures are in and over 30c.

3/ Puppies as young as 4 weeks old already separated from the mother. Minimum 8 weeks.

4/ Many owners will walk their dog on a lead and not allow it to socialise with other dogs.

1 hour ago, overherebc said:

Believe there is one in BKK.

Check in the pets section in tv forums.

The crematorium is called Pet Angel

40  billion they could spend on hospitals, if  they combined that with gawd  knows  how  much they throw at the  temples, what a  place it would be.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Pet business reaches Bt40 billion as people indulge their darlings

................for 1st 3 years before abandoning them

Yeah, I think we don't have enough dogs in Thailand. 

For being or becoming a hub for dogs please go ahead with breeding. ???? 

Times are changing in Thailand.  Twenty three years ago in Udon there was hardly a pet store and maybe a vet or two.  Today, pet stores are everywhere as are younger and more friendly vets than the days of old.  When I go into one of Udon's larger pet stores, I see many Thais buying high end food for their pets.....way beyond what we spend for our dogs/cats.  Back when we first arrived, you might see a gold store owner with a fancy dog, but that was about it.  Today they're everywhere.

I'm going to predict that in not too many more years, you'll see a decline in street dogs.  Thais are becoming more responsible, but it'll take time to change their ways.  One thing for certain, I haven't seen a bucket truck pick up a loose dog since the early 2000's.

 

3 hours ago, Colabamumbai said:

Being a pet owner and having to put down a pet I would like to open a pet cemetery, but wonder if Thai people would use the burial and or cremation services. Any positive thoughts on that. It would be in Korat, just outside the city. 

Don't really know much about the industry, but I believe you can get loved ones and pets turned into diamonds these days.   Possibly could have more appeal to many Thais.

But do they Desex and vaccinate and register the little children substitutes?

My facing neighbor has 7 that she let's out every night for a <deleted> and <deleted> in the soi.

There should be a hefty tax collected from these 40 Billion THB and allocated to the processing of stray dogs.

I have two small dogs, one chihuahua and one chihuahua/small brown Thai dog cross. We have two rai or so of garden and orchard which they run about in all day. They also have the run of the house (not bedrooms) and are kept indoors at night. In the cool season my wife puts light "overcoats" on them at night - which they don't mind.

 

I have just worked out that with vets bills, dried food and the occasional chicken wings they cost me around B7000 a year! They are however great fun, very loving, and an important part of our family.

A Merc or "Benz" as Thai like to call them with a Chihuahua shows you've arrived !

It is more of "keeping up with appearences" fashion to keep dogs similar to drinking wine to reflect icome and sofistication. 

6 hours ago, Momofarang said:

There should be a hefty tax collected from these 40 Billion THB and allocated to the processing of stray dogs.

as in meat processing????

This is from a local temple here in Koh Samui. The temple and nearby waterfall are a popular tourist attraction. It's a shame the monks don't care about the tourists as much as they do for their VERY aggressive dogs.

Meanwhile millions of soi dogs roam around the streets. Impossible to go for a jog or a bike ride without being chased by a swarm of dogs. 

 

People here have no idea how to train animals, where to keep them. They always let them out outside to roam the streets where their paws often get crushed by cars and bikes. 

On 9/30/2019 at 6:56 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Do people who put clothes on their animals love them?

Do people who give them "snacks" with strawberries and other human deserts love them?

When I go to pet shops it seems more than half of their products are best case useless and more likely bad for the pets.

But so called animal lovers buy all that <deleted>.

 

Maybe someone should ask all those animal lovers how much time they spent learning about natural behavior of all those pets. Do they like to be alone or together with other animals? What is their natural food? Are they supposed to sit in a cage or room or are the supposed to run around outside? It seems many pet owner don't know and don't care. But obviously they think they love their pets...

 

 

Great pic reminding us all of junk food.

On 10/1/2019 at 7:43 AM, pjuk said:

This is from a local temple here in Koh Samui. The temple and nearby waterfall are a popular tourist attraction. It's a shame the monks don't care about the tourists as much as they do for their VERY aggressive dogs.

I also like most dogs more than most tourist.