Pet industry continues to grow rapidly
At 2019, the pet industry is the sector to be in. It has grown strongly for the past 20 years and more.
Pet industry growth graph.
This video explains the reasons. I watched the first minutes. I’ll speculate myself. Two reasons come to my mind (a) improved animal welfare and (b) preferring a companion animal over a child. The latter may sound a bit extreme but I think it is true, if not in the USA, then in Northern Europe. And I am referring to the USA primarily and Europe for this strong growth in the ‘pet industry’ which includes foods, medicines and services such as veterinary and boarding.
Video
If we look back to about 50 years ago or further, the attitude by companion animal ‘guardians’ (probably the wrong word for people at that time) looks very crude and ignorant in general by today’s standards.
| Useful links |
|---|
| Anxiety - reduce it |
| FULL Maine Coon guide - lots of pages |
| Children and cats - important |
There is far more refinement in pet ownership nowadays. The better cat guardian is far more switched on to cat health. They are more observant and concerned and there is more money around I’d argue. Also businesses in the pet industry are more switched on to ways to extract money from cat and dog owners.
Pet foods have evolved hugely. Dry cat food is dominant and there are so many ways to make dry cat food more attractive. But arguably dry cat foods are a development too far. It is unnatural and addictive. But the manufacturers know what customers want: convenience. The pet industry’s customer is not the pet but the human. The health and welfare of the pet is second to how to get the pet’s owner to spend more money. Veterinarians have also found many ways to make themselves indispensable although pet owners are more switched on these days.
Cat litter is also a big earner. There was a time when it did not exist. Sometimes service providers in the pet industry have gone too far in their desire to tap into revenue streams such as the declawing of cats. This is horrible and indefensible. Yet is continues. It is accepted although the operation (brutal mutilation) is on the way out. There is a backlash against the obvious greed of vets who perform the operation. People can see through veterinarians’ lies about it.
However, the future is bright for the pet industry in the US. In America, there is plenty more space for people and when the population grows as it will sharply for decades to come there will be more cats and dogs. And I am sure they’ll figure out new ways for pet owners to spend their money.
A possible development will be more advanced and more expensive medical procedures akin to the sort that humans are subject to. Cats and dogs are family. That means that they are treated as if they are humans which in turn means more money is spent on them. Far more than in the old days when it was acceptable to have a dog in a chain in the front yard permanently feeding on human scraps. It still happens which surprises me a lot moreso in developing countries. There is plenty of roo for expansion in the pet insurance market as relatively few pet owners subscribe to it. They don’t believe in it. The insurers should reduce the premiums.
The more educated pet owners become the more they’ll understand animal abuse and be prepared to spend more money on companion animals. These are some idle thoughts about why the pet industry is so bouyant. It was written without research and without viewing the video.
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