This Day, That Year

Item from Dec 4, 1994, in China Daily: The dog-owning craze in Beijing has cooled after regulations were passed last week requiring 5,000 yuan for the first year’s registration fee.

The number of registered dogs in Beijing has grown to 1.5 million, according to the China Beijing Kennel Club, an organization managed by the city’s Public Security Bureau.

Dog registration fees in the city were lowered in 2003 from a hefty 5,000 yuan ($756) to 1,000 yuan per dog, which encouraged more ownership.

Authorities in many cities across the country have adopted pet ownership and management regulations to meet the trend.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China has become the world’s third-largest pet market, after the United States and Japan. From 2010 to 2016, it grew annually, on average, by nearly 50 percent.

The country’s pet owners spent 130 billion yuan on their animals last year, up 21.4 percent year-on-year. China’s pet industry could be worth more than 200 billion yuan by 2020, observers said.

Pet lovers are more willing now than in the past to spend on their furry friends, spawning an industry chain covering products and services. The focus is no longer on just animal breeds and veterinary services. There are pet-treat stores, pet websites, pet social networks, pet hotels, pet swimming pools and even pet funerals.