Pleasant News Today--More pets than children in Taiwan as birthrate drops

More pets than children in Taiwan as birthrate drops

A stroller on the streets of Taipei is seemingly just as likely to carry a puppy as a human baby these days.

Strollers with dogs have become common in Taiwan’s capital, in part because the metro system requires pets to be held in carriers, but also because there are now more pets than children in Taiwan as more people have been adopting pets and the country’s birthrate has declined, The Guardian reported Friday.

“Dogs in Taiwan are pampered and well cared for, but can also be an accessory to show off, and the more portable the better,” Taiwan resident Tom Parker told The Guardian.

Taiwan officials estimated there were close to 3 million pets in the country during the second half of this year, a number even larger than the number of children age 14 or younger, PetFoodIndustry.com previously reported.

At the same time, Taiwan has a declining birth rate – down 6% from 2016 to 2019, Taiwan News reported.

The report pointed to social pressure against having a child outside of marriage, as well as short maternity leave periods and low wages, as the largest barriers to having children in the country.

Taiwan isn’t the only country where pets outnumber children. Japan’s pet population has reportedly outgrown its child population since 2003. Even the U.S. has an estimated 135 million dogs and cats, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, while there’s only around 73 million person under the age of 18, per the U.S. Census Bureau.

The growing number of pets in Taiwan isn’t an accident. The country has encouraged pet ownership by boosting pet accommodations like pet-friendly restaurants and hotels in Taipei, according to PetFoodIndustry.com. The city, with a population of about 2.7 million people, had more than 120 pet-oriented hospitality businesses as of last year, such as eateries that offer “gourmet” pet menus with human-grade ingredients.

Taipei even introduced several “pet-friendly” bus lines last year in which animals just need to be on a leash, not in a carrier

Some accessories traditionally associated with humans have also become more popular for pets in Taiwan, according to The Guardian. For instance, it’s not completely uncommon to see a dog sporting a raincoat, sunglasses or socks.


Click for pets

Breeder Pea Brains will blame animals for this phenomenon as they always do. There will be hand-wringing and pearl clutching that people are choosing pets over childrun.

Perhaps some people are avoiding children because having children sucks? If these people were not raising pets, they would be doing something else in addition to not having children. Because some can see that raising kids sucks and they realize children are optional.

It makes Breeders crazy.

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bell_flower
Breeder Pea Brains will blame animals for this phenomenon on they always do. There will be hand-wringing and pearl clutching that people are choosing pets over childrun.

Perhaps some people are avoiding children because having children sucks? If these people were not raising pets, they would be doing something else in addition to not having children. Because some can see that raising kids sucks and they realize children are optional.

It makes Breeders crazy.

Sadly as we see in Poland we will see increasingly conservative governments seeking to eliminate abortion and birth control and preventing women from being sterilized as well.

+++++++++++++

Passive Aggressive
Master Of Anti-brat
Excuses!

I’ve been wanting to move to Taiwan for a while now…

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"Why children take so long to grow? They eat and drink like pig and give nothing back. Must find way to accelerate process..."
- Dr. Yi Suchong, Bioshock

"Society does not need more children; but it does need more loved children. Quite literally, we cannot afford unloved children - but we pay heavily for them every day. There should not be the slightest communal concern when a woman elects to destroy the life of her thousandth-of-an-ounce embryo. But all society should rise up in alarm when it hears that a baby that is not wanted is about to be born."
- Garrett Hardin

"I feel like there's a message involved here somehow, but then I couldn't stop laughing at all the plotholes, like the part when North Korea has food."
- Youtube commentor referring to a North Korean cartoon.

"Reality is a bitch when it slowly crawls out of your vagina and shits in your lap."
- Reddit comment

"Bitch wants a baby, so we're gonna fuck now. #bareback"
- Cambion

Oh whatever. Abortion doctors are crimestoppers."
- Miss Hannigan

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craftyzits

Sadly as we see in Poland we will see increasingly conservative governments seeking to eliminate abortion and birth control and preventing women from being sterilized as well.

I am hoping Polish border stays open. Because as of right now, a bus ticket gets one out to a free zone, where abortions are legal and do not cost a fortune.

I think conservative governments are seeing a common phenomenon: there is an appearance of victory before a major loss.