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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 her from an animal centre, I had never imagined caring for 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 nearly 8 per cent to 207,400.
The industry has also defied 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 vets has doubled in the past decades.
Many of my friends here have acquired pets as they rethink having children, given the high costs of raising them, a political crackdown on the education system with its new “national security” curriculum and other lifestyle choices, including housing in a densely populated city.
But, while not as expensive as children, pets also come with a price. A regular health check at the exotic pet vet costs more than HK$1,500 ($192) each time. My hedgehog’s food, snacks, bedding materials and grooming services could cost hundreds of Hong Kong dollars a month, let alone possible surgery and additional care as she ages. Pet medical insurance is booming, mainly for cats and dogs but also turtles, tortoises and birds — although not yet for hedgehogs.
“Pet healthcare can cost the equivalent of private healthcare for humans,” said Zoe Cheng, managing partner of IAM Wealth, an insurance brokerage. A dog undergoing surgery for pancreatitis, for example, could cost more than HK$30,000.
“This is one of the sectors where [people] would be more reluctant to cut down on spending,” Jacky Lui, a Hong Kong-based partner at PwC, told me. PwC estimates there were about 120mn pet dogs and cats in mainland China in 2023. “Despite covid lockdowns, we are seeing a continued growth in pet ownership and adoption.” Lui adds that social media influencers are also having an effect.
Strong growth is expected over the next couple of years in animal food, accessories and healthcare, he said, with an increasing number of younger first-time owners making this 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 that it could balloon from $320bn to nearly $500bn worldwide by the end of the decade. While the US and Europe are among the biggest markets, it has also expanded rapidly in Asia over the past decade, where lower fertility rates remain one possible contributor to stronger growth.
Hong Kong now has the highest per capita spending on pets among major Asia-Pacific cities and regions, according to Euromonitor data. At a pet fair here in January, Barbie-like outfits, supplements and probiotics, and cooked-to-order fresh food such as “grass-fed lamb” were all on display.
Cats and dogs can even go on holiday on chartered private jets through specialist travel agencies. A week-long 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 autumn. “As long as Bear Bear [her pet] is happy, we are happy,” Hung told me.
But there is a grim side to this picture. Animal abandonment cases in Singapore nearly tripled year on year in 2023, according to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They have also been rising 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 selling and buying hedgehogs is in effect illegal in my city, at least 13 pet hedgehogs were abandoned in August alone last year, according to the Hong Kong Hedgehog Association. Mine was sad among those found in 2022. It is heartening to read updates of new adopters like myself while my pet, who has fallen asleep on my arm, smirks a little.