QUEEN’S ROAD: This weekend, pet lovers will get a chance to interact with professional breeders, animal experts and gain a lot of knowledge about how they can care for their pets better. For the first time in recent history, a professional pet fair is being held in the city. This week, City Express spoke to Linda Brady Hawke, CEO and Publisher of the India International Pet Trade Fair, which will be held between Friday and Sunday at the Karnataka Trade Promotion Centre in Whitefield.
“We expect the fair to provide a two-fold benefit to the community. From a business-to-business perspective, we want the fair to be a go-to platform for national and international trade people to meet and do business. While the industry is growing in a consistent manner, it still has opportunities waiting to be explored. The pet-care industry is a fantastic segment for both entrepreneurs and established businesses to grow,” Linda says.
The Indian market for pets has crossed the 800 million USD mark and is showing strong signs of growth, according to Linda. The forecast sales for dog and cat food in 2016 is expected to cross 102 million USD. The city plays an important role in this market because of a thriving pet population as well as awareness about pet care being high in the city.
“We are looking at the fair as a platform to provide pet owners knowledge about pets and their needs. It is for the first time we are doing an event of this scale in south India and we will have around 100 stalls from around the globe as well as from India,” she says.
The organisers are expecting around 20,000 visitors in three days and have tied up with partners from China, US, Taiwan, Japan, UK, Slovakia and Germany.
Of particular interest will be pet counselling sessions for owners. “The challenge is that most first-time dog owners are unaware of the needs of their pets. Both owners and pets need counselling but there is limited or no focus on pets being trained in a proper manner. Also, unlike foreign countries, we do not have a mandate for training of pets in the country.”
Previous sessions of the trade fair held in other parts of the country have had sessions for owners, breeders as well as veterinarians.
Around 40 dogs will also be up for adoption, Linda says. Groomers can also participate in a workshop which will aim to increase their skills.
While the workshop costs `2,000 per participant, it is free for pet owners. A free check-up camp for pets will also be held by the Pet Practitioners Association of Karnataka at the camp.
For aquarium and gardening enthusiasts, there will be a seminar on Aquascaping conducted by Adip, director of Aqua Design Amano India (ADA).