Taiwan’s first preventative veterinary center opens doors

Taiwan’s first preventative veterinary center opens doors

2024-05-27

Taiwan’s first preventative veterinary center has opened its doors. The center provides the latest technology to make sure pets stay healthy, allowing their owners to avoid steep treatment costs down the line. The health center is just one more business in the pet health sector, which is set to be worth more than NT$8 trillion globally by 2026.

A dog sits on the examination table as the vet gives it a thorough checkup.

An X-ray machine is pulled downward to snap shots of a cat’s heart and lungs in action. There’s also a CT scanner that can be used to take a close look at the cardiovascular system. Its specifications are just as advanced as for human CT scans.

Wang Yu-ping
Veterinarian
We can use it for preventative medicine, to look at the whole body, the thoracic cavity, and the abdomen, for example. We can also use it to take exceptionally clear images of the heart.

More than 2.4 million people in Taiwan have registered as cat and dog owners, meaning that the pet services sector is booming. Now, Taiwan’s first preventative veterinary medical center has opened its doors.

Huang Ko-wei
Veterinary hospital superintendent
Through early detection and early intervention, we can effectively alleviate the suffering pets may experience due to health conditions, reducing the physical toll on them.

Ms. Tseng
Pet owner
The fee for preventative checkups is much lower than any potential treatment costs down the line. If you find something during a checkup, you can deal with it sooner. If you wait until your pet is 16 years old, and you find a tumor, you might have to operate or provide palliative care, which can set you back more than NT$10,000 each time.

Taiwan’s pet population is increasing year by year. In 2019, it surpassed the population of newborn babies for the first time. In 2023, the number of pet dogs and cats increased by more than 307,000. That year, only 135,000 babies were born, meaning there were 172,000 more pets than people.

Tang Shun-chen
Veterinary hospital
In general, without preventative care, the average lifespan for a dog is around 10 years. But with thorough preventative medicine, it’s entirely possible for dogs to live to 20 years.

Taiwan’s pet care industry is set to be worth more than NT$6 billion. Globally, the sector continues to grow, and is expected to reach US$252 billion by 2026. That’s about NT$8 trillion. As more and more people take in cats and dogs, animal health care has become a top priority for pet parents.

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