首页 > 分享 > CHINA DIALY专访谈及宠物殡葬背后的巨大潜力与商机，TIANPET天宠

CHINA DIALY专访谈及宠物殡葬背后的巨大潜力与商机，TIANPET天宠

萌宠菠菠乐园
2024-08-21 23:09

文章来源@China Daily HK

The thriving pet industry has created a rare breed of professionals and entrepreneurs — pet morticians. The emergence of this unusual career exemplifies the potential and value of emotion-driven businesses.

Apart from pet food and toys, the demand for personalized cremation and memorial services for pets has soared among owners who would like to see their furry companions depart with dignity and love. According to data from global accounting firm PwC, the Chinese pet business was valued at 131 billion yuan ($18.41 billion) in 2021, increasing at an impressive annual growth rate of 18 percent since 2019, with growing numbers of families, particularly in major cities, turning to pets for companionship, solace and pleasure.

A pet mortician specializes in tending to departed pets, meticulously trimming their nails, grooming their fur, tidying up waste and bathing them before cremation or burial to ensure that they bid farewell to their owners in the cleanest and most beautiful state possible.

“It’s an honor helping to give owners’ beloved pets a wonderful final journey as most people would often find themselves overwhelmed and distraught after a pet passes away,” says Lo Chi-lam, a pet mortician at Perfect Pet Services Group (PPSG) — a Hong Kong-based professional pet cremation and memorial services provider.

Lo says that in his work, he’s often moved by the intimate bonds sealed between owners and their beloved pets they consider to be a part of their families. A particular story that made a deep impression on him is of a dog that passed away after he had been with a family for more than two decades and grew up together with the child of the family; the young master was heartbroken. “Their lifelong friendship was so touching and I could not help shedding tears together with them,” he recalled.

“To me, it’s more than just a job to earn money. It’s a heartfelt dedication to serving our clients, taking care of both pets and their owners,” says Lo. Each day, he performs rituals for more than a dozen pets, mainly cats and dogs, but also hamsters, chinchillas, turtles, lizards and even larger animals like horses. He can earn up to HK$30,000 ($3,845.16) a month.

Initially, Lo’s family didn’t understand his work. He had to explain that pets too, like human beings, deserve a dignified departure. In Hong Kong, owners can also send the remains of their pets to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, where the animals will be laid to rest in a specially designated landfill area. But, most of them prefer to have their pets buried or cremated individually.

‘All about respect’

“It’s all about respect. Regardless of whether it’s an animal or a human being, they all deserve to be treated with care and dignity in their final moments,” says Edmond Tang, who chose to cremate his two pets — a Labrador retriever named Blackie and a Dalmatian named Macro — individually, and still keeps their ashes at home. His special way of commemorating them is to customize handmade stuffed animals, capture the likeness of Blackie and Macro, and treasure them at home.

Besides pet morticians, the number of skilled artisans specializing in crafting pet memorial keepsakes has also been on the rise, catering to the desire of pet owners to preserve their memories. Artisans can produce a range of offerings, including personalized paw print jewelry, engraved memorial plaques, custom-made urns, and handcrafted paintings or sculptures to capture the unique essence of each cherished pet.

Calvin Yau, who founded PPSG, says the company has about 30 employees, including pet morticians and memorial makers, and has been hiring new staff.

“In Hong Kong, the number of pet owners has been rising, with a growing sense of respect and reverence towards pets. As a result, our business has been growing steadily.”

According to a survey report by the Census and Statistics Department, about 250,000 households in Hong Kong were keeping cats and dogs from October to December in 2010, representing 10.6 percent of all households in the city.

More recently, a survey last year by Rakuten Insight showed around 35 percent of respondents in Hong Kong stated that they own at least one pet at the moment.

Although pet morticians have existed in the local market for two decades, more diversified and customized services, such as religious rituals and bio-cremation services, have emerged in recent years.

Thus, Yau says, competition in the industry is fierce, with more players entering the market. He added that the capital threshold is relatively low. “With a startup capital of about HK$3 million, you’re in business.”

To provide more customized services, PPSG plans to apply a new technology utilizing artificial intelligence to recreate deceased pets in virtual reality. Their owners can even talk to them in the virtual world.

However, there’re no relevant certification credentials for pet morticians and the industry lacks regulation. Some pet funeral companies in the SAR have reportedly sent the remains of pets to garbage dumps to reap bigger profits.

Vast potential

On the Chinese mainland, the pet mortician profession has just taken off, and the demand for these professionals has been mounting in recent years. In Zhaoqing, Guangdong province, four young entrepreneurs created a pet cremation and memorial service brand called TIANPET in 2019. Their operations have since expanded to 12 cities, with more than 100 employees.

Ding Xiaowei, general manager of the enterprise, is confident about the industry’s vast potential. “Pet funeral services have yet to establish a footing on the mainland. The market is immense, particularly with the changing perspectives of the younger generation towards pets,” he says, adding that the pet funeral industry has been growing steadily at a rate of about 5 percent annually since 2019.

Tianpet has around 30 pet morticians, most of them born in the 1990s, indicating that the younger generation is actively engaging, and has been pursuing careers, in the pet funeral business.

Ding says the pet funeral industry involves more than just morticians. The company is also expanding into the field of pet memorial products by collaborating with talented artisans and designers.

“The emotional market is, indeed, a focal point for various industries in the future,” he says.

Contact the writer at grace@chinadailyhk.com

近年来，蓬勃发展的宠物殡葬行业造就了一批“罕见”的专业人士与职业——宠物殡葬师。这个不同寻常的职业之所以会出现，正是情感驱动型经济潜力与价值的体现。

相较于市场上对宠物食品与玩具需求的激增与发展，宠物殡葬与宠物情感纪念服务也受到越来越多宠物主的重视，他们更希望爱宠是带着尊严和爱离开。根据全球会计师事务所普华永道数据显示，2021年中国宠物行业经济市值为1310亿元人民币（184.1亿美元）。自2019年起，以18%的年增长率增长，越来越多的家庭尤其在大城市，转向“拟人化”养宠，开始寻求宠物陪伴和情感精神层面的慰藉。

宠物殡葬师的主要工作是整理宠物遗体，包括身体清洗、毛发梳理、修整指甲等，让宠物能以最好的面貌姿态与主人告别。

任职香港专业宠物殡葬火化与纪念服务集团（PPSD）的宠物殡葬师罗智霖（Lo Chi-lam）表示：“很荣幸能以帮助主人与去世爱宠度过最后一段美好旅程，因为大多数人在宠物去世后往往会发现自己不知所措，而我们的职责就是帮助他们处理好宠物身后事。”

罗智霖跟本报分享一些他过往的宠物殡葬经历，在服务过程中他经常会被主人和宠物之间的情感纽带打动，能感受到主人是把宠物当成家人一样，让他印象最深刻的是善终过一只20多岁的高龄狗狗，这只狗狗是陪伴家里小孩一起成长的，“这种情感已经不能只用“宠物羁绊”形容，而是像一个陪伴20多年的家人突然离开一样悲伤，这一刻即使再自己再专业，也很难不感同身受。”

罗智霖说：“对我来说，宠物殡葬师不仅仅是一个赚钱的职业，更是一种全心全意为顾客服务的精神。”。每天他都会帮助十几只宠物举行善终仪式，主要是猫和狗，也有仓鼠、龙猫、乌龟、蜥蜴，甚至马等大型动物。他每月的收入高达30000港元（约3845.16美元）。

起初，罗智霖的家人并不理解他的工作。他不得不解释，宠物和人类一样，也应该体面地离开。在香港，主人还可以将宠物的遗体送到渔农自然护理署，被安置在专门指定的垃圾填埋场处理。但是现在香港更多的宠物主人更倾向为逝去宠物进行单独火化以及举行善终告别仪式。

所有的一切都为了“尊重”

宠物主人Edmond Tang说：“这一切都是关于尊重。无论是动物还是人类，世间万物在生命的最后时刻都应该受到照顾以及郑重对待。”所以他选择将自己的两只宠物——一只名叫Blackie的拉布拉多和一只名叫Macro的斑点狗单独火化，现在它们的骨灰还存放在家里。

为了纪念离去的两只狗狗，他专门定制了宠物仿生毛毡纪念品，那是一种可以“模拟还原”宠物生前模样的手工艺品，并一直珍藏在家里。

除了宠物殡葬服务以外，为了满足市场需求，专门制作宠物纪念品的手艺人与机构数量也在激增，这些手艺人与机构创作的宠物纪念品种类繁多，包括个性化定制的爪印、珠宝首饰、雕刻纪念牌、手绘、宠物骨灰雕塑等，捕捉每只宠物珍贵独特的本质。

PPSG的创始人Calvin Yau表示，目前公司有大约30名员工，包括宠物殡葬师和纪念品手艺人，并且员工数量在持续增加。

“在香港，养宠人的数量一直在增加，人们对宠物的尊重和敬畏感也在增强。因此，我们的业务一直在稳步增长。”Calvin Yau表示。

根据政府统计局的调查报告显示，2010年四季度香港约有25万户家庭饲养猫狗，占全港所有家庭的10.6%。乐天洞察在2022年的一项调查指出，约35%的香港受访者目前至少饲养一只宠物。尽管宠物殡仪馆在香港市场已经出现超过20年，但近年来出现了更多元化的定制服务，如宗教告别仪式和生物火化服务等。

因此，Calvin Yau表示宠物殡葬行业的竞争愈发激烈，越来越多的参与者进入市场。他补充说，“资本门槛相对较低，有了大约300万港元的创业资金，你就可以创业了。”

为了提供更多定制服务，PPSG计划提供一项新的人工智能技术，让去世宠物在虚拟世界“新生”，甚至实现主人可以和去世宠物在虚拟世界对话的场景。

然而，目前宠物殡葬师没有相关考核证书，行业也缺乏部门监管。据报道，香港特区一些宠物殡葬公司会私下将宠物遗体送往垃圾处理场，而并非单独火化，以谋取更大利润。