Making meow-ney: The pet breeding industry has seen booming business, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic hit. — AFP
BUSINESSES will always have their positives and drawbacks, and the pet breeding business is no different. The industry has thrived, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
“Pet breeding has been very busy, especially in 2020-2021 – the early part of the pandemic when many people were looking for a business to do at home because they had the opportunity to work from home.
“Just see the booming trend of ornamental fish such as betta fish, and reptiles such as turtles and geckos,” said Andrie Kriesniawan, owner of Manggala Cattery in East Jakarta.
The pet breeding business itself, according to Astria Muktihapsari, a vet at Pet Hut Sinau Satwa Citra Raya in Tangerang, is where breeding is done for commercial purposes by rearing pets for profit.
“Business activities include the selection (process) by breeders to find superior seeds, arranging mating activity and assisting with the births of litters,” she said.
Andrie breeds other kinds of animals besides purebred and mixed cats, including tarantulas, leopard geckos, betta fish and guppies.
But he says this is just a hobby, adding: “If it’s a business, it means I gain some sort of monetary profit.
“The advantage for me is just channelling my hobby. Even if I do make money, it goes back to my pets for maintenance costs as I’ve also rescued abandoned kittens.”
Pieter Richardo Jawono, a 24- year-old pet enthusiast from Surabaya, shares the same point of view.
“Pet breeders are, in my opinion, people who love animals and want to do it as their business, doing what they love,” said Pieter, who has been a compassionate fan of dogs since he was 10 years old.
But Maria Josephine Kriesye, a cat lover from Surabaya, has a different concern about the business. Pet breeding has its own controversies such as animal abuse and ecological imbalance.
“To my limited knowledge, somehow they do some sort of modification to produce a new type of pet instead of having the mating process carried on naturally,” said the 46-year-old.
Andrie refuted this view, saying that most pet breeders did it based on their hobbies because, unlike breeding animals for human food consumption, most of the time, the profit did not cover the costs.
Regardless of the love or purity of the business purpose, pet breeders have existed in Indonesia for a long time. But being a pet breeder also comes with several challenges.
“Every business always (has) challenges of its own. For pet breeders, a bad or rainy season can impact the health of their pets and increase the price of (the animal’s) food,” said Pieter.
“The challenges for me are health problems and insufficient space in my house,” said Andrie.
He also said breeders had certain responsibilities to the animals.
“Breeders need to consider the future of their pets by releasing them to responsible people. By changing ownership, the responsibility for maintenance also changes,” he said.
“Breeders need to provide guidance and consultations if the new owner has problems with maintenance and health.” — The Jakarta Post/ANN
