Current location:Cultural Carousel news portal > business
Doggy ballgowns, surveillance tech and cloning services for sale at China pet fair
Cultural Carousel news portal2024-05-21 13:35:25【business】8People have gathered around
IntroductionA shimmering, 1.5-metre-long golden ballgown stood pride of place in a Shanghai exhibition hall Thur
A shimmering, 1.5-metre-long golden ballgown stood pride of place in a Shanghai exhibition hall Thursday — and for the cool price of US$13,700, your dog could be the lucky animal to leave Pet Fair Asia wearing it.
The plethora of luxury and sophisticated gadgets on display at the show, the region’s largest, is testament to the consumer power of China’s expanding class of young, tech-savvy pet owners.
From robot companions to AI-powered health-monitoring wearables, animal welfare is a lucrative industry — and if all else fails, cloning a beloved pet is also an option in China these days.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe $13,700 dog dress — which comes with a matching tiara — is hand-embroidered and designed for a canine wedding, stall manager Sun Chao told AFP, adding they usually got around a few dozen orders a year for such designs.
“The overall economic environment in our country in the past few years has not been very good, but the pet market is in a league of its own,” said Sun.
The industry is projected to grow 68 percent to 811 billion yuan ($112 billion) by 2025, according to iiMedia Research.
‘Together forever’ with tech
Pet Fair Asia is taking place over several days, with organisers saying its scale this year is unprecedented.
It features more than 2,000 exhibitors selling items as varied as tofu cat litter, desiccated treefrog snacks and dog doughnuts and macarons.
In a nod to the region’s intense work culture, remote surveillance devices were a common sight, allowing busy owners to monitor their pets from afar.
Embed from Getty ImagesOne US$169 robot can follow animals around, feed them, amuse them with a laser or broadcast their owner’s voice.
The next iteration will use artificial intelligence to help interpret the pet’s movements and react accordingly.
Technology is even being applied to overcoming death.
At Chinese company Sinogene’s stall, visitors crowded around a cage of identical frisky terriers wearing harnesses that read “I am a clone dog”.
The firm is one of the few in the world offering animal cloning services — enabling pets and their owners to be “together forever”, as its tagline states.
A representative named Dai told AFP they had cloned around 500 animals for Chinese customers since they began in 2017, including some for the country’s security services.
It costs between US$30,000 and US$60,000 to clone a dog, depending on its breed.
At the beginning, said Dai, the business was met with wariness from consumers.
Embed from Getty Images“But with the development of the economy and people’s dependence on pets… people have slowly begun to familiarise themselves with and accept cloning,” he said.
While most of the show catered to cats and dogs, there were signs that more exotic tastes were beginning to take off.
Eager to appeal to pet lovers with cash to burn, an electric car company led an unimpressed-looking alpaca around as they gave out leaflets and stickers.
In one exhibition hall, a kaleidoscope of snakes squirmed in small plastic takeaway containers, and a small scrum formed around a box full of meerkats.
Meanwhile, a capybara studiously ignored showgoers’ overtures as it munched its way through its grass bedding.
Address of this article:http://finland.gigirondeau.com/html-04c499897.html
Very good!(64458)
Related articles
- Verona confirms Serie A status for another year after beating Salernitana
- Diplomat tapped as Latvia's new foreign minister as incumbent quits following flights scandal
- Letter from Lhasa: A return after 14 years
- Commentary: U.S. needs to honor commitments with actions to improve ties with China
- Young Boys seals 6th Swiss soccer league title in 7 years after rallying from firing coach Wicky
- Xi'an summit to open new chapter of China
- Understanding what an open China means to the world through "thinner" suitcases
- China's rural vitalization breathes new life into agriculture, villages
- Uber and Lyft say they'll stay in Minnesota after Legislature passes driver pay compromise
- Griezmann scores 2 as Atletico Madrid beats Girona 3
Popular articles
- College baseball notebook: Conference tournaments to decide NCAA automatic bids and many at
- To build even closer relations between China, Central Asian countries
- Bundy family standoff: 10 years on, cattle graze disputed Nevada land
- China condemns slander against Hong Kong's Safeguarding National Security Bill
Recommended
The government wants to buy their flood
China, U.S. should work together in same direction to stabilize, improve bilateral relations
Certainty of China's development augurs well for the world
Poverty eradication with Chinese characteristics
Tom Brady and Jay
China, U.S. should work together in same direction to stabilize, improve bilateral relations
Remember history, safeguard peace
Jointly mapping out new blueprint for global biodiversity conservation
Links
- Runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport reopens after aircraft collision
- U.S. artists voice concerns over situation in Gaza amid anti
- Coronel has 3 saves, first shutout of season, Red Bulls and Fire tie 0
- Arab states condemn U.S. for vetoing UNSC resolution on Gaza ceasefire
- Coachella: Earthquake shakes SoCal desert during music fest
- India's election commission directs political parties not to involve children in campaigning
- Belgrade celebrates Chinese New Year with fireworks, dragon dance
- Tkachuk gets 2 goals, Batherson scores in the shootout, and Senators beat Canadiens 5
- U.S., Western allies should not preclude Malaysia from being friendly to China: Malaysian PM
- MacKenzie Gore strikes out 11 as Nationals beat Athletics 3