The Fate of Pets Amidst the Migration Wave: To Take or To Leave?
Recently, a surge of immigration from Hong Kong has emerged. According to relevant Hong Kong government statistics, the net outflow of Hong Kong residents from mid-2022 to mid-2023 reached 121,500. Many Hong Kong residents, while struggling with their own future prospects, also face a difficult choice regarding their pets.Bringing pets when immigrating requires careful consideration of climate, quarantine regulations, and entry requirements at the destination to minimize stress and uncertainties for the animals. (Photo: Pexels)A pet shelter owner has recently taken in many dogs abandoned by their owners due to immigration. Some pet owners, fearing that their dogs are too old to withstand long flights and quarantine, ultimately choose to leave them behind. This inevitably prompts the shelter owner to sigh, "You wouldn't leave your family, so why a pet?"For pet owners migrating with their animals, besides the financial burden, a greater concern is the potential impact on their pets' physical and mental health. A pet immigration consultant recommends that pet migration should consider factors like weather, health, and destination entry requirements. Ideally, owners should train their pets before migrating to help them adapt to unfamiliar environments and flight journeys.To ensure better care for their pets, some owners choose private or chartered flights. A professional pet consultant estimates that she has arranged the travel of 150 to 200 pets to their immigration destinations over the past six months.Wealthy pet owners go to great lengths, even arranging for their pets to travel by private jet. For example, transportation costs to the UK can reach nearly one million New Taiwan dollars. (Photo: Pexels)For pets migrating by commercial airliners, seats are in high demand. Some popular flights only have 8 pet spots per day, requiring queuing for standby arrangements. This may potentially delay the owners' immigration processes.As for the cost of pet migration, the estimated cost for consultation fees, quarantine, and documentation processing is roughly HK$20,000 to HK$30,000. If transportation costs are included, pet transport via commercial carriers may range from several thousand to tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars. Private flights could cost hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong dollars. Overall, pet migration costs are likely to fall within the range of NT$200,000 to NT$1,300,000.In this era of immigration, everyone is carefully evaluating the various conditions and making their final decisions. However, pets are already members of their families, regardless of whether they are left behind or taken along. Remember that pets are living beings with emotions and deserve our sincere and thoughtful care.