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China may have more pets than children under 4 by year end – Report

Published

5 days ago

September 13, 2024

By Francesca Hangeior.

China’s urban pet population is set to surpass the number of children under four by year end, according to reports by CNN and Goldman Sachs.

The reports, released on Thursday, noted that China’s population is ageing rapidly and its workforce is shrinking, following decades of a one-child policy.

A study by the YuWa Population Research Institute found that China is one of the most expensive countries to raise a child, surpassing Australia and France in relative terms.

China’s government, which ended the one-child policy in 2016 and later relaxed birth restrictions in 2021 to allow three children, is now struggling to boost birth rates, having previously been successful in limiting them.

Couples interviewed for the study like Hansen, 36, and Momo, 35, are opting out of having children and instead choosing to become pet owners, a trend increasingly common among Chinese couples.

Owner Tao hangs out with dogs at Space, a dog hotel in Beijing. Photo: Justin Robertson/CNN
A Goldman Sachs report predicts that by year’s end, the number of pets in China’s urban areas will exceed the number of children under the age of four, driven by growing demand for pet food.

Goldman Sachs projects that by 2030, urban China’s pet population will nearly double the number of children under four nationwide.

This estimate only accounts for urban areas, and the total number of pets would be even higher if rural areas were included.

According to Goldman Sachs, the rising pet ownership in China reflects a shift in values among younger generations, who no longer prioritise marriage and childbearing as a means of continuing family lineage.

“Different generations value things differently, you know,” said Hansen.

Goldman Sachs reports that China’s pet food sector is booming, with sales growing 16% annually from 2017 to 2023, reaching $7 billion.

The industry is projected to expand to $12 billion by 2030, with a potential upside of $15 billion in just six years, making it one of the fastest-growing consumer sectors in the country.

The report highlights that the pet industry’s surge in China marks a stark contrast to just 20 years ago, when keeping pets was seen as a luxury of the wealthy and mixed-breed dogs were primarily valued as guard animals.

China’s birth rate is also expected to decline by 4.2% annually from 2022 to 2030, driven by a shrinking population of women aged 20-35 and a growing trend among young people to delay or forgo having children.

“We expect to see stronger momentum in pet ownership amid a relatively weaker birth rate outlook and higher incremental household pet penetration from the younger generation,” the report stated.

Rising costs and economic uncertainty are deterring many Chinese couples from having children.

“The world’s second-biggest economy is facing headwinds ranging from high youth unemployment to a protracted property crisis,” CNN noted.

China’s government has shifted its approach, replacing restrictive population control measures like forced abortions and sterilisations with enticing incentives, such as cash rewards and extended parental leave, to encourage people to have children.

China’s population has dropped for two consecutive years, hitting 1.409 billion, with a record-low birth rate of 6.39 per 1,000 people, the lowest rate since the founding of Communist China in 1949.

News

Ecoparl: Speaker Ibrahima Reaffirms Parliament’s Dedication to Regional Unity

Published

3 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Gloria Ikibah

By Gloria Ikibah

The Speaker of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, Rt. Honourable Memounatou Ibrahima, restated that the parliament remains committed to ensuring the unity and integration of the people within the subregion.

According to Speaker Ibrahima, the Parliament will continue to use parliamentary diplomacy to engage countries that are considering leaving the bloc due to political challenges, such as Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, as a result of military coups they experienced.

The Speaker stated this when she led a delegation of the ECOWAS Parliament on a working visit to the President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday in Abuja.

She highlighted that while countries may break formal cooperation, the people of the region remain interconnected, adding that the Parliament, as representatives of these people, will work to maintain the unity.

Ibrahima expressed gratitude to the Nigerian Senate for supporting ECOWAS by providing necessary facilities for their plenary sessions, even as she discussed the socio-political challenges facing the region, as well as how parliamentarians can contribute more to address these issues.

She said: “We strengthen parliamentary diplomacy, because we know that the countries might break cooperation but we cannot separate the population. The population always live together and we as representatives of the people, we are doing our best so that this living together will continue to be reality and even made better.

“We came to thank him for all the facilities that the senate has been providing to the ECOWAS Parliament to facilitate the holding of our sessions here in Abuja. We also discussed on the socio-political situation in the community. We also discussed on the ways parliamentarians can make more contributions on the various issues and the challenges that we are experiencing in ECOWAS”.

The President of the Senate,

Senator Akpabio, who was represented by his Deputy, Senator Barau Jubril, commended Ibrahima’s leadership and her efforts in using parliamentary diplomacy to foster cooperation within ECOWAS, especially in light of the challenges posed by countries considering an exit from the bloc.

He noted that since Speaker Meimounatou assumed office, she has deployed enormous parliamentary diplomacy to bear not only on the level of cooperation with institutions in the region but also on those that have expressed the wish to quit the regional block.

Naijablitznews.com reports that Senator Jubril is the First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament.

He said: “Since she was elected the Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, she has been up and doing in terms of giving leadership to the parliament. It is in that regard that she is here trying to chart a better course for the parliament to make sure that she brings parliamentary diplomacy to bear in terms of our cooperation not only with those who are within the community as we speak but also even those who are attempting to leave the community.

“It is in that respect that she is here, and what she is doing is commendable. She has come to strengthen her idea and initiative of making the parliament stronger and more effective”.

News

Air Force Begins Moving Electoral Materials For Edo Guber Election

Published

5 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has began airlifting the sensitive election materials for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to Benin, Edo State, ahead of the upcoming governorship election scheduled for September 21, 2024.

This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Deputy Director, Public Relations and Information, Group Captain Kabiru Ali.

The operation is part of the NAF’s efforts to ensure the timely and secure delivery of materials necessary for a smooth electoral process.

This development reinforces the collaboration between NAF and INEC to facilitate logistics and ensure a peaceful election in Edo State.

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Bala Abubakar, had previously reiterated NAF’s commitment to providing airlift support for the swift movement of electoral materials during a meeting with INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.

This airlift operation is a crucial aspect of NAF’s constitutional responsibility to provide Military Aid to Civil Authority, underscoring the force’s dedication to supporting democratic processes in Nigeria. With the election just days away, the NAF’s timely intervention will help ensure the successful conduct of the governorship elections in Edo State.

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State had earlier accused the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, of working with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to hunt the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members and supporters in the state and force them into hiding ahead of September 21 governorship election.

Obaseki, who made the allegation when a delegation led by the former Head of State, Abdusalam Abubakar, met with him to get the governor and his party to sign peace accord, said that the IGP had made nonsense of his (Obaseki’s) role as the chief security officer of the state.

The governor had said that the police chief obtained a warrant to arrest 60 members and supporters of PDP in Edo and that the IGP sent an armed “gang” of policemen who invaded the state, attacked PDP members, shot at a local government chairman and arrested 10 persons who are currently being detained in Abuja without charges.

Asked by the former head of state if his party would sign the peace accord, Obaseki said, “The person who is supposed to enforce the peace accord is now an active participant in creating a destructive environment.

“We are now in a situation where from the Inspector General’s office, there are armed gang policemen who came into Edo State, invaded, arrested and took away PDP members.

News

“Dancing gives me abundant joy and peace of mind”-Gov Adeleke

Published

5 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Kayode Sanni-Arewa

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has given reasons why he loves dancing.

The ‘Dancing Governor’, as he is fondly called, revealed this on Wednesday while responding to a tweet on X.

An X user, @Iwogoke, while praising the governor, stated that Adeleke has been busy fulfilling his electoral promises to the people of Osun State, while his political opponents believe he is only good at dancing.

Iwogoke tweeted, “I’m not flattering you, Your Excellency, your opponents think you can only dance but while they are busy shouting and calling you ‘Dancing Governor’, you are busy fulfilling your electoral promises to the people.”

Responding to the tweet via his verified X account, Adeleke explained that he loves dancing because it brings him joy.

Speaking further on his love for dancing, Adeleke highlighted that while dancing brings him immense happiness, his greater fulfilment comes from delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of Osun.

Outlining his administration’s efforts to enhance the state’s infrastructure, he noted that primary health centre rehabilitation is underway in at least 200 out of the 332 wards across Osun State, adding that road construction projects are also progressing in every local government area.

He wrote, “Dancing gives me joy, but delivering on my electoral promises and providing the dividends of democracy to the good people of Osun gives me even greater joy. Rehabilitation of primary health centers is ongoing in at least 200 out of 332 wards, and road construction is progressing in every Local Government!”