The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed.
As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year.
Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last year, 1,880 doctors joined the specialist physician program for children under three years old, who were in charge of caring for 195,552 children in 1,048 medical institutions.
The percentage of veterinarians that specialize in pet animals are higher in metropolitan areas or cities with tech professionals.
Hsinchu City, where the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park is located, has the highest percentage of animal medical specialists.
The percentages in the six special municipalities are as follows: 84.3 percent in New Taipei City, 78.4 percent in Kaohsiung, 76.7 percent in Taoyuan, 76.4 percent in Taipei, 76.1 percent in Taichung and 70 percent in Tainan.
The nation has about 1,800 animal hospitals, but the number could potentially increase to 2,000 by the end of this year or next year, Taipei Veterinary Medical Association chairman Yang Hsiao-po (楊孝柏) said.
On average, each veterinarian cares for 575 animals, compared with 2,500 in Japan and 4,000 in the US, he said.
The rising demand for medical care for pet animals has also motivated more animal hospitals to increase investment in medical facilities, he added.
“In the past, veterinarians could open an animal hospital with just a table and a stethoscope. A large percentage of people treated their pets as nothing more than animals. If a dog or a cat vomited, you only needed to prescribe some medications, and if it did not work, pet owners just came back for more visits,” Yang said.
“People now treat dogs and cats as family members, and they could live as long as humans,” he said. “Animals now receive the same medical treatment as humans do. If they throw up, you have to do blood tests and an ultrasound to determine [whether] they have gastroenteritis.”
Not wanting to have children is only one of the reasons why more people choose to become pet owners, Yang said.
“Raising dogs and cats has healing effects, and people would choose to have pets to accompany their elderly parents so that their parents can have a normal and more social life,” he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS