宠物食品发展前景

中国宠物经济近几年在没有政策支持的情况下,呈现了突飞猛进的进展,宠物经济的发展也由此带动了宠物相关产业的发展。在宠物经济中占有主导地位的宠物食品行业更是让人始料不及,由原来的不被人重视的饲料行业提升为被世人关注的宠物食品行业。中国宠物食品行业的发展,有望通过一代人的努力来改变国有宠物食品行业的无序状况,更希望能有相应的政策支持,使行业向健康标准化发展。     

宠物的社会问题与管理

随着社会的演进,宠物数量和宠物产业的需求高速增长,宠物与人类生活、生态以及经济活动的关系也愈加密切。与此同时,城市生物链被破坏、宠物饲养规范及防疫管理难度加大、流浪动物收留和领养困难、宠物密度及总量宏观调控等社会问题相继提出。今后,我们应在发展高质量的宠物繁育体系、规范宠物交易、提高国有品牌宠物食品市场占有度、建立宠物服务行业标准、确保流浪动物福利与控制流浪动物数量等方面进一步开展工作,适时调整法律和政策体系,科学引导社会需求,积极促进新兴产业健康发展。     

宠物和宠物市场

我国自上世纪80年代中期以来逐渐形成了一个以犬、猫为代表的宠物市场。经过20多年的发展,宠物市场已经成为一个涵盖宠物养殖、宠物交易、宠物食品和用品的生产与销售、宠物医药保健、宠物赛会、宠物美容、宠物训导等内容的庞大产业。根据中国犬业协会（CNKC）的统计2004年中国犬只的交易额超过100亿元。成都市狂犬病防治办公室的统计现有已免疫的犬只超过20万只,实际犬只数量远超过这个数。加上数量同样庞大的家猫,我们推测成都市的宠物总量超过50万只。如此巨大数量的犬猫构筑了宠物市场坚实的自然基础。     

宠物与人类健康

本文围绕宠物与人类健康主题,阐述了宠物对人类健康的积极作用;宠物对人类健康的负面影响,并对保障我国宠物业健康发展提出建议。     

城市宠物与管理

随着我国城市化进程发展、城市家庭结构变化,越来越多的城市居民将宠物视为家庭成员。城市宠物在提供陪伴和精神支持方面具有重要意义的同时,也带来了伤人、扰民、疫病传播、环境污染等社会问题。本文旨在通过阐述城市宠物管理现状,介绍国内外管理亮点,展望管理发展方向等,探讨针对城市宠物问题调整不同人群利益矛盾的方法,推动城市宠物规范管理,促进宠物业健康发展。     

宠物化学药物研究

为正确导向宠物化学药物的发展,提高研制水平,避免＂超级细菌＂的产生,保护人类医疗资源,本文简述了宠物化学药物的研究现状,剖析了宠物化学药物的研究过程中存在的问题,提出了我国宠物化学药物创新发展战略,并展望了宠物化学药物的发展前景。科学使用宠物专用化学药物不仅促进宠物产业乃至整个畜牧业的健康发展,而且对降低耐药性产生,保护人类健康也具有重要的公共卫生学意义。     

宠物美容与保健

本文介绍了宠物美容的意义及美容项目,并提出了良好的宠物美容不仅是对毛发的修剪还是对宠物健康的一个全面的保健护理,同时提出要关注宠物美容对其心理的影响。     

一种调理肠胃的犬用复合益生菌食品制备及应用试验

文章旨在研究一种调理肠胃的复合益生菌宠物食品,以期为宠物食品技术领域提供新发明;通过自制益生菌添加剂,并配合特定的中药提取物儿茶素,通过最佳配比相互之间的协同发生作用,从而使得宠物肠道中的有益微生物实现增殖,对肠道中的有害菌起到抑制效果,最终改善宠物肠道中微生物的种群结构和数量,降低了宠物的腹泻率,有效地调节了宠物的肠胃,具有广阔的应用前景。     

宠物肿瘤及其免疫治疗进展

肿瘤是人类和宠物的常见病,恶性肿瘤对人类和宠物的健康构成严重危害。人类和宠物肿瘤病理改变极为相似,研究宠物肿瘤在比较医学和人类肿瘤上均具有重要学术价值。本文仅就临床常见15种宠物肿瘤病理特点和免疫治疗研究进展作一简述,供临床宠物肿瘤病理诊断和免疫治疗参考。     

宠物与生物安全

宠物伴随人类文明已有数千年的历史。随着我国经济的增长和人们生活水平的不断提高,宠物饲养已日益普遍化。宠物种类和数量不断增加的同时,宠物的生物安全问题,已经明显地威胁到生物多样性、生态环境及人类健康。本文分析了宠物的潜在生物安全隐患,探讨了宠物生物安全管理方面存在的问题并提出了宠物生物安全的应对的措施。     

Attitudes and Motivations of Owners Who Enroll Pets in Pet Life-Care Centers

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics, motivations, and expectations of humans who enroll their dogs, cats, and other pets into pet life-care centers. Pet life-care centers are groups or institutions that provide a permanent home for pets in the event of the owner’s illness, inability to care for their pet, or death. The long-term pet care industry has grown in the quality and type of care available to pet owners and is a classic example of the human–animal bond in action. This bond is well-documented in the literature, with most research focusing on physical, emotional, and mental health benefits to the pet owner. Few studies have examined how the human–animal bond affects the animal, and little is known about the motives and expectations of owners who enroll their pet in a life-care center. We conducted a study using a mail questionnaire sent to 163 current clients of a pet life-care center in Texas, USA. Of 101 respondents, whose ages ranged from 30 to over 70, most were female, married, and college-educated. Respondents strongly endorsed a variety of reasons for enrolling their pet in the center, with quality of veterinary care and satisfaction of their pet’s basic needs being the most highly rated. Coding of open-ended responses was consistent with these ratings and identified having no other options as another frequently endorsed reason. The open-ended responses also indicated that respondents expected that their pet would enjoy extensive social interaction, receive high-quality medical attention, and be treated like they were at home. Respondents who had previously visited the center were more willing to adopt a pet in the future than those who had not visited the center. With the dramatic growth of pet life-care centers in the United States and lack of existing literature, further studies in this area are advised.     

Primates Face to Face: Conservation Implications of Human–Nonhuman Primate Interconnections Edited by Agustín Fuentes and Linda D. Wolfe

ABSTRACT

Sterilization of companion animals is in most cases an expression of the caretaker's will. However, little is known about caretakers' attitudes toward pet sterilization in general—these can influence their decision to sterilize their own animals. Three hundred and twelve Romanian caretakers of non-sterilized companion animals (194 women and 118 men) were surveyed before the implementation of a pet management program in Transylvania, the North-Western part of Romania. The caretakers were administered a questionnaire that gathered demographic data and measured their general attitude toward pet sterilization and their attitude toward the sterilization of their own pet (male or female). Questionnaires were filled in by caretakers of 202 dogs and 110 cats. Romanian pet owners showed an overall level of slight disagreement toward the sterilization of companion animals. Gender-biased attitudes of the Romanian caretakers toward the sterilization of their own pets emerged only when the sex of the animals was taken into consideration, regardless of the type of pet. Romanian men disagreed with neutering male pets while Romanian women were more likely to agree with neutering male pets. No gender difference was detected regarding the spaying of female pets, with both genders showing a slight level of disagreement. The results are discussed from sociological, anthropological, and evolutionary perspectives.     

The Association of Pet Ownership and Attachment with Perceived Stress among Chinese Adults

Pet ownership is associated with both positive and negative emotions. Given that not everyone responds to pet care in a stressful way, perceptions of companion animals may play a role in how owners respond to them. In this study, we explored the relationship between pet ownership and perceived stress among Chinese pet owners. We also examined the effect of care practices and perceptions of pets on perceived stress. A total of 288 Hong Kong Chinese, adult pet owners, aged 18 to 70 years, were recruited. Participants were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire covering demographics, pet ownership background, pet attachment, and perceived stress. Regression analyses were performed to examine pet attachment in different demographic groups and its relationship with perceived stress. Moderation and mediation analyses were performed to elucidate their underlying mechanisms. After adjusting for demographics and pet ownership background, greater attachment to a pet was associated with lower stress in owners. The perception of pets as family members minimized the stressful burden of pet care. More time spent caring for a pet increased attachment to that animal which in turn reduced stress in owners. The findings suggest attachment to companion animals and the perception of them as family members can help manage and reduce stress in owners.     

Negotiated Bonds: The Practice of Childfree Pet Parenting

The American Pet Products Association reports a decade-long increase of pet spending, estimated to reach over $69 billion in 2017. In some cases, these owners apply traditional parenting practices while nurturing their pets. Relatedly, a growing number of pet owners identify themselves as “pet parents.” This study is the first known work to investigate how identity plays a role in the growing population of pet parents. While previous research into the pet parenting phenomenon has sought to quantify the demographics, spending, and frequency of this population, less work seeks to understand what pet parenting looks like in practice. Sampling a population of childfree pet parents, the current study utilized semi-structured interviews and identified two common themes in their daily practice of the identity: 1) Despite the use of parent–child terms and strategies, childfree pet parents are acutely aware of the differences between raising children and raising pets, and 2) pet parents ascribe agency to their pet, identifying individual pet wants and needs to fulfill. This may further inform future research on human–animal relationships by establishing a human identity that connects directly to pet practices in the United States, asking us to consider the lived experiences of this growing population and their pets including spending, lifestyle, and attachment concerns.     

Psychological Mechanisms Predicting Wellbeing in Pet Owners: Rogers’ Core Conditions versus Bowlby’s Attachment

While pet ownership may confer physical and psychological health benefits, existing research presents inconsistent findings, and the psychological mechanisms through which health benefits might be conferred are unknown. Exploring human–pet relationships from the perspectives of Bowlby’s attachment theory, namely “attachment-related anxiety” and “attachment-related avoidance,” and Rogers’ core conditions including “unconditional positive regard” and “empathy” may highlight the psychological mechanisms involved. This study compared quality of life (QOL) and psychopathology in pet owners with those without pets. In the pet owners, we additionally assessed pet attachment, and perceived empathy, unconditionality, and congruence in the human–pet relationships. We then compared the relative value of Bowlby’s attachment versus Rogers’ core conditions in human– pet relationships as predictors of wellbeing in pet owners. Overall, pet owners and non-pet owners did not significantly differ in terms of QOL or psychopathology. However, in pet owners, secure pet attachments were associated with lower psychological distress and psychopathology, and those perceiving higher levels of Rogers’ core conditions from their pets had higher QOL. Bowlby’s pet attachment insecurity predicted psychological distress and psychopathology, while Rogers’ total core conditions in pets were significantly predictive of QOL of owners. Differences in wellbeing may not be reliably discernable between pet owners and non-pet owners, as wellbeing is related not to pet ownership alone but to qualities of individual human–pet relationships. The results provide new information about psychological mechanisms through which human–pet interactions are conferred, and support for the applicability of both Bowlby’s and Rogers’ concepts.     

Not So Cold-blooded: Narcissistic and Borderline Personality Traits Predict Attachment to Traditional and Non-traditional Pets

A growing number of studies have assessed the personality of pet owners. However, although there is a large number of people who own exotic pets, their personalities have seldom been examined. Furthermore, studies of personality of pet owners have focused almost exclusively on typical personality traits, ignoring associations with “dark” traits. Here, we assessed both traditional and some dark personality features in association with pet ownership and attachment in 325 pet owners via an online survey. We predicted that individuals scoring higher on narcissism and borderline personality features would be a) more likely to own exotic pets, and b) less attached to their pets compared with people scoring lower on narcissism and traditional pet owners. Additionally, we theorized that neurotic pet owners would be more attached to their pets compared with less neurotic pet owners. We did not find an association between personality and exotic pet ownership but we found that those high in grandiose narcissism were actually more attached to their traditional pets. Those high in vulnerable narcissism were more attached only if their pets were exotic. Those high in borderline features were less attached to both kinds of pets. Personality assessments including “dark” features of personality may therefore be useful in predicting attachment to pets during the matching process of potential adopters to pets.     

犬、猫与人类心血管疾病的特点比较

随着我国小动物诊疗行业与国际兽医临床技术的接轨,国内的兽医学科向专科方向发展,小动物心血管疾病在老年动物呈现出越来越高发的迹象,临床兽医在心血管疾病的研究也越来越深入,也更多的借鉴了人类心脏病学的诊疗检查手段,通过将犬猫心血管疾病特点与人类相比较,发现两者之异同,希望能籍此指导犬猫心血管疾病诊疗,满足动物主人的需求,维护动物健康,缓解给动物主人所带来的焦虑,体现兽医在维护人类身心健康的作用。     

一个新兴的朝阳产业——宠物行业的前景

随着人民生活水平提高,物质生活富裕,传统家庭结构发生了变化和工作压力的增大,人际关系逐渐趋于淡化,使越来越多的人将感情投注于宠物身上,宠物与人类的关系已经发生了变化,人们越来越注重休闲生活情趣的培养,不再以追求温饱为主要目标,人与宠物间的依赖关系,随着时间的流逝而日益浓厚。饲养的犬猫不再扮演看门和捉老鼠的角色,而是人类休闲时的玩伴。在社会提倡人与人之间关爱的同时,也提升了人们对动物福利的理念,对社会的关爱和爱心,但他们迫切需要兽医医疗、疫病防控和饲养管理的指导。怎样将兽医知识教育公众并增加公众对饲养宠物的理解、对人兽共患病的认识,对所有影响动物福利问题的意识是我们的责任。伴随着宠物数量的增长,围绕宠物经济和宠物行业的发展催生了一些新兴的产业,这些产业带来的不仅是相关产品的诞生,我们看到了这些产业上升的空间和它的发展前途,成就了人们的就业和再就业,同时也给宠物行业带来了不可估量的经济效益,并对社会产生了巨大的社会价值和难以估计的经济产值。目前国内宠物市场已进入一个高速发展的时期,全球发达国家都将目光投向了中国日益增长的消费水平,这也标志着中国宠物市场发展的时机已经成熟。宠物市场涌现出的商机不可小觑,也正是我们看到的中国巨大的商机。以宠物为主题的产业日新月异,中国的宠物行业将迈上一个新的台阶。