In the current era of career involution, many industries are saturated, and job seekers are starting to target those niche professions. On Xiaohongshu, a profession called "pet funeral director" frequently appeared, arousing the attention and curiosity of netizens.
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Pet funeral specialists, a seemingly unpopular profession, are quietly rising in China's huge pet market. In 2022, the number of pet dogs and cats in China will reach 11.7 billion, a year-on-year increase of 4%. In the context of the upgrading of the pet consumption industry, the number of pet dogs in China is expected to reach 200 million in 2023. This huge pet market has not only led to the vigorous development of the pet economy, but also given rise to many new professions, including pet funeral specialists.
Cremation service is the basic project of pet funeral, and there are a lot of consumables related to it: disposable pet sheets, urns, pet spirit tablets, pet paper money, paw print souvenirs and many other consumables, each of which is a consumption point. The cost of cremation is also calculated according to the weight of the pet, and the usual basic ** cost is 400-700 yuan. To cremate a slightly larger pet, the cost can easily be thousands.
In addition to cremation, there are other ways to commemorate for pet owners to choose, such as pet portraits, custom pet felt sculptures, etc. For higher consumer groups, there are also services such as hydration funeral, space funeral, and pet cloning to choose from. More high-end services such as taxidermy of pets or cremated ashes into diamonds, which are no cheaper than natural diamonds, and even cost more than 80,000 RMB for a 1 carat loose diamond.
However, is being a pet morticist really as lucrative and easy as it sounds?In fact, this industry is not low-cost entry, behind the "consumption everywhere", the pet funeral industry is also "everywhere cost". Not only the cost of consumables and venues, but also the labor cost of the pet funeral industry.
When the workers were still scolding "996", pet funeral directors had long been accustomed to "007". Because it is impossible to predict the time of death of a pet, and sometimes it is too hot in the summer, and the remains of the pet need to be disposed of as soon as possible. Therefore, 24-hour standby, year-round, and rapid action are simply the necessary qualities of every pet morticist, and insufficient rest has become the normal life of most pet morticists.
And because of the specificity of the industry in terms of groups and needs, pet morticians also need to provide emotional support to pet owners. To sum up, although the pet funeral market has great potential, the hardships and efforts behind it cannot be ignored. For those who truly love pets and care about their welfare, this industry may be full of opportunities, but for those who only value financial benefits, the challenges and efforts need to be carefully considered.