8 November 2007
Hong Kong
Responsible pet keeping has become a major social topic in Hong Kong in recent times, given the increasing number of pets found abandoned and publicized cases of animal abuse, but there seems to be hope yet for our four-legged friends, according to a recent survey conducted by The Nielsen Company in Hong Kong about people’s attitude toward pets keeping.
As the Nielsen survey reveals, people in HK acknowledge the benefits of keeping a pet, with 91 percent agreeing that pets are people’s good friends, 16 percent preferring a pet over having children, and 77 percent thinking that having a pet helps teach their children patience and care for others.
Chart 1
Conducted in August 2007, the Nielsen survey on pet keeping was conducted among 1,000 Hong Kong and Taiwan people aged 15-49 respectively, via telephone and online survey.
“While we see some positive attitudes about pet-keeping among both pet owners and non owners, the proportion of Hong Kong people currently owning a pet remains quite low, largely attributable to the limited living space and hectic lifestyle of Hong Kong folk,” said Eva Ng, Director, FMCG Research, The Nielsen Company Hong Kong.
According to the Nielsen pet study, one fifth of people in Hong Kong are currently pet owners, compared to neighbouring Taiwan where 35 percent claim to have at least one pet.
Among the variety of pets owned, dogs were the most popular in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Fish and Cats ranked second and third most popular.
Chart 2: The pet(s) that I am keeping (Hong Kong Vs Taiwan)
Ranking |
Hong Kong (%) |
Taiwan (%) |
1 |
Dog (36%) |
Dog (25%) |
2 |
Fish (30%) |
Fish (12%) |
3 |
Cat (23%) |
Cat (7%) |
4 |
Turtle (18%) |
Bird (6%) |
5 |
Bird (6%) |
Cavy (4%) |
6 |
Cavy (5%) |
Rabbit (2%) |
7 |
Rabbit (3%) |
Turtle (2%) |
Base: All pet keepers
“Another area in the survey not to be neglected was people’s ‘intention’ to abandon their pets. While pet owners in Hong Kong seem to have a stronger attachment to their pets, among those owning a pet, six percent admitted that they had considered abandoning it at some time,” said Ms Ng. (Chart 3) “The figure is even higher in Taiwan, where 13 percent claimed to have thought about abandoning their pets.”
Chart 3
The majority of HK people purchased their pets (67%) and 21 percent received it as a gift from friends/relatives.
On average, Hong Kong people spend HK$527 on a variety of goods for their pets every month (or over HK$6,300 a year), 20 percent more than their counterparts in Taiwan.
Nearly two thirds (60%) of those surveyed thought people owned pets because they were lonely, and close to half (43%) considered a pet a luxurious hobby. 62 percent in the meantime would rather spend their money on helping the underprivileged than keeping a pet.
Among the 79 percent non-pet owners in Hong Kong, the major reasons for not owning one were concerns about the time required to take care of them (33%), that it was forbidden where they live (28%), and 27 percent simply didn’t like them (Chart 4). While in Taiwan, besides the time they could devote to them, noise and hygiene, and limited home space emerged as the second and third major reasons for not keeping a pet.
Chart 4
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research). The privately held company has more than 42,000 employees and is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
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