It's a dog's life

More and more Taiwanese people are keeping pets — and taking them on vacation, giving rise to a whole new tourist industry

By Ian Bartholomew
Taipei Times
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007, Page 13

Tokyo; Canine-friendly services at Japanese airports PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

Danny Tsai (蔡明智), who works in IT and his wife, Rebeca Chuang (莊淑芬), an accountant, love their dogs. They, like many other dog owners in Taiwan, regard their mutts as part of the family and are loath to part with them when they travel overseas. One and a half years ago, they decided to do something about it and established Pet Tour (信華事業). Since then, they have led three tours to different parts of Japan. Pet Tour also handles the shipment of pets to countries around the world. “It started out from a personal need,” Tsai said, “but then it grew from there.”

Moving pets across international borders has long been problematic, primarily due to a lack of uniform international guidelines. Every country has different entry requirements for pets as do international airlines — some enforcing blanket bans on pets, others allowing small animals to accompany their owners in the cabin.

“It is necessary to do a lot of homework before you can even contemplate taking pets overseas,” Tsai said, “and there is little margin for error.” In many cases, if difficulties arise over paperwork when entering a country, the animal may face immediate deportation, extended quarantine or destruction by the authorities, options that would be traumatic for any pet owner on vacation.

Pet check-in at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

In the UK, the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) was introduced in February 2000 to allow pet dogs, cats and ferrets from certain countries to enter the UK without going through quarantine. It also allows pets to visit EU nations and return to the UK without undergoing quarantine, as long as they meet a list of detailed requirements. The program has been gradually extended and in December 2002 the mainland US and Canada joined. This scheme has helped those animal lovers in the UK who want to take their pets with them on holiday.

Five star dog food PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

getting past the red tape

There is, as yet, no such help for pet owners in Taiwan. Daniel Cheng (鄭烜), a Taiwanese national who took his two long-haired dachshunds with him when relocating to Japan, said the local authorities were generally very helpful, but required owners to coordinate paperwork from numerous agencies in Taiwan and at the destination.

Dogs and their owners arrive at Narita International Airport PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

The whole process needs to start long before the scheduled travel dates. In the case of dogs, proof of immunization and a chip that meets the requirements of the destination country are basic requirement.

After this, there follows a lengthy process of health checks, validation of these health checks by the authorities in the destination country and the issuing of an import permit. In the case of visiting Japan, the process for ensuring a smooth journey must begin at least 40 days before departure. “It is definitely not something you can do on the spur of the moment,” Tsai said, adding that Pet Tour trips to Japan close bookings two months before the departure date.

Nevertheless, improved procedures and a growing belief that pets are part of the family have seen a huge increase in the number of animals passing through Taiwan’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (動植物防疫檢疫局), Council of Agriculture (農委會). Dog exports have increased from 1,711 in 2003 to 4,363 last year. Cat exports have increased from 340 to 530 over the same period of time.

“It’s not just the dogs that need to be sorted out,” Tsai said about organizing tours. “Owners also have to be educated. They need to know that traveling with a pet is a very different experience from simply looking after their dog at home. Most people only spend a couple of hours a day together with their pet — they need to go to work and so on. But when traveling together, they are with their pet 24 hours a day for the whole duration of the holiday.” In the case of Pet Tours, these trips are usually about four to five days.

“On the first tour we organized, we had two young women who brought four dachshunds. By the third day they were exhausted and couldn’t go on. ... We now always recommend no more than one pet per person, or even better, one dog between two, so you can share the work of caring for the dog,” Chuang said.

best behavior

It is also important to ensure a reasonably good dynamic between the dogs and to monitor the ability of their owners. “Badly behaved dogs will be refused admission to hotels or play areas,” Cheung said.

“We simply cannot afford to accept any applicant to join the tour,” Tsai said. “If the owner cannot control their dog, we have no choice but to reject them. After all, you only need one dog who cannot be controlled, whether it is biting other dogs or barking uncontrollably, to create difficulties for everyone,” he added.

Pet Tour is the only tourism outfit in Taiwan offering foreign travel for owners and their pets, mostly dogs. Some travel agents do offer domestic travel to destinations such as Hualien or Kenting, were pets can take advantage of big open spaces or experience the delights of the ocean. An increasing number of Taiwanese guesthouses accept pets, or provide some basic services, but Tsai emphasized that these services are usually incidental to their services for humans. “In Japan, hotels which accept dogs are meticulously planned to cater to canine comfort and owner convenience.”

International airlines present a confusing array of regulations governing when and how animals can be transported. “The treatment and attitude toward carrying dogs also varies considerably from carrier to carrier,” Tsai said. Most domestic transport carriers are inclined to treat dogs as cargo, with little regard for the comfort and well-being of a much-pampered companion.

Tsai, who has led group tours of around 10 dogs and their owners to Tokyo, Okinawa and Osaka, said that Japan is considerably more advanced than Taiwan in their handling and treatment of pets. This is part of the reason he decided to establish Pet Tour. “It is not mainly about the tours, which are relatively expensive and for which the market remains small,” he said. “It is a chance to show people how other countries treat their pets, and in the long-term, perhaps raise the level for Taiwan’s treatment of dogs.”

For additional information

Pet Tours:

www.pettour.com.tw

Taiwan’s quarantine regulations (English and Chinese):

www.baphiq.gov.tw/welcome/welcome.htm

PETS:

www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/procedures/vets_proc.htm

British design shares the love

Published on Taipei Times
Thursday, Oct 11, 2007, Page 13

The creative industries are some of the UK's most successful exports. Over the next 10 days they will be flaunting their style in Taipei

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER

From TopShop to Grand Theft Auto and Wedgewood to Benoy Architects, Britain's creative industries are thriving. The exhibition Love and Money showcases the best of British design and aims to make inroads into Taiwan's economy. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE BRITISH COUNCIL

The creative industries have been billed as the way of the future, a transformation of the abstruse world of arts and design into a driving force behind commercial development and a vibrant, sophisticated retail culture. This industry has been growing rapidly in the UK, and London has been transformed into "arguably the creative capital of the world," according to David Percival, head of UK Trade and Investment in Taiwan. Love and Money, an exhibition of the best of British design, has set out to showcase the UK's success, and also to establish a platform for cooperation between UK designers and investors in Asia.

The commercial intention of the show is right there in its title. While the purpose of design is certainly to make beautiful things, this is not really enough, as plenty of artists in Taiwan have repeatedly discovered. "When they [designers] do the design, they love it, ... but there is also a big commercial need out there for them to do business and bring in the money," said Amanda Lin (林君玲), the senior commercial officer with the British Trade and Cultural Office who is overseeing the launch of Love and Money in Taipei. The ability to link the love and the money has been crucial to the success of the creative industries in the UK and is a source of envy among many nations that wish to emulate this success. (Creative industries now account for 8.2 percent of GDP in the UK.)

"It is not just about general design. A lot of it is to target the specific needs of Taiwan," said Percival.

"Taiwan's companies, especially consumer electronics companies, are increasingly becoming brand companies (rather than contract manufacturers). When you are doing your own brand, design becomes much more important. You are no longer just selling on price, but on quality and an image. This is the opportunity for us to work with Taiwanese companies ... . They [Taiwanese companies] don't just work with British designers, but also with British branding companies and marketing companies," Percival said.

Exhibition Notes The main exhibition, which will feature stands by major British design-related firms as diverse as Penguin Books, Rockstar Games (publishers of videogame Grand Theft Auto), Studio Myerscough (which designs for Wedgewood) and TopShop (the fashion line). For a full line up of exhibitors, see www.britishcouncil.org/arts-design-love-and-money.htm. * Today until Oct. 21 * 4F Taipei 101 Mall, free admission * Information about workshops and seminars can be found at the British Trade and Cultural Office Web site at www.britishembassy.gov.uk

The focus on architectural issues is not coincidental either. Percival points to the massive urban development projects that Taiwan is planning. "There is around US$12 billion of projects that are going to be up for grabs in Taiwan over the next five years. ... We are looking at projects like the National Exhibition Center in Kaohsiung and the ideas for a new financial services center around Taipei Main Station."

Love and Money has toured five countries in Asia (and will be moving on to South Korea after it wraps up in Taipei), but according to Percival, the Taiwan show has evolved into the biggest of all, largely due to the great interest of local companies. While the exhibition at Taipei 101 will doubtless present a fascinating showcase of what British designers of every sort are doing, much of the activity for Love and Money will center on the "wrap around events," most notably the UK architecture seminars featuring Adams Kara Taylor, Creative Designs International and Benoy Architects and the Design Forum with Industrial Facilities and Wedgewood, targeted at Taiwan's creative industry professionals.

"These are all commercially proven designers, designers who work in business and run successful design houses or architectural firms. ... It is not just about how important good design is for the quality of life, but that these guys can also make money out of it," Percival said. The success of the UK has been acknowledged in Taiwan in the most telling terms: The number of Taiwanese students going to the UK to enroll in design-related programs has increased by 30 percent over the last three years.

Continental Europe has traditionally been the home of fine design, but over the last decade, the UK has made rapid strides to equal and in many areas supercede established rivals. "It has become incredibly diverse," said Percival. "London is not made up of British designers, it is made up of multicultural designers from all over the world. ... It is all global design, and this makes it very adaptable. If you go into a British design house, you'll find people of every nationality in the world there."