Photo source Xinhua News Agency During the Spring Festival, many people either returned to their hometowns or traveled, and in order to properly place the pets left at home, the foster care service was extremely popular, and a series of problems ensued also gave many people a headache.
Data shows that in 2023, the number of pet dogs in China will reach 51.75 million and the number of pet cats will reach 69.8 million, making it the second largest pet market in the world. In this context, the demand for pet boarding market is rising. As a new format, pet boarding is not only to provide pets with a "warm harbor", but also often with a package of services such as feeding, bathing, and grooming to fully solve the worries of pet owners. Judging from the market feedback, every holiday, although many pet boarding stores have climbed, business is still easy to do, and even "one is hard to find".
With the rise of pet boarding services, the competition in the industry is becoming increasingly fierce, and there is a trend of savage growth. The foster care system is chaotic and the service standards are not uniform.
First, the relevant qualifications are not sound and other problems are becoming increasingly prominent. For example, some pet boarding stores have launched VIP rooms and luxury rooms, and it costs tens of thousands of yuan to foster a cat during the Spring Festival, which is comparable to a five-star hotel; Some businesses are suspected of false publicity, serious crotch stretching of services, and feeding spoiled food to pets; There are also pet sitters who manage poorly, causing pets to get sick or even die......
Pet boarding is to find a trustworthy place to buy the most professional care. The matters in the process of foster care are complicated, and many problems are not accurate, and it is difficult to clarify the responsibility for the problem. Due to the lack of detailed industry standards, the level of merchant fees is also quite different. Among them, there are also some unqualified businesses fishing in troubled waters, and the epidemic prevention measures are in vain. In addition, pets being sent to unfamiliar businesses may cause a stress reaction, and if the service is not done properly, disputes will inevitably arise. Under the blind spot of management, there is a lack of effective constraints, which implies potential safety hazards, and once encountering accidents, consumers often have no way to protect their rights.
To regulate the foster care industry, whether it is the fee standard, the notification obligation that must be fulfilled by the depository, or the boundary of the handling opinion after the occurrence of a dispute, there needs to be a "clear account". On the one hand, relevant supervision needs to keep up with the pace, combine with the actual market situation, improve industry service specifications, raise the entry threshold, and agree on the rigid requirements of the foster care environment, general standards for pet care, and safety measures to deal with emergencies. On the other hand, for pet owners, when choosing to board pets, they should also carefully confirm the qualifications of the store, sign a written foster care agreement, and clarify the pet's health status, service content, risk responsibilities, etc.
With the craze for pet raising, in addition to in-store foster care, new models such as door-to-door feeding and family foster care have also quietly emerged. Only by clarifying the rules, strengthening supervision, and solving the slots of the foster care industry can consumers be more aware and assured, so as to promote a more standardized, transparent and orderly pet economy.