Pets in an Era of Declining Birth Rates: "New Family Members" Tend to Be Dogs and Cats Rather than Humans

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The number of Japanese children born in 2024 will be 686,000, the lowest number ever recorded. While the number of children per person is steadily declining, the number of pets continues to increase. Pets are now equivalent to children, and it has become commonplace to spend money on them from cradle to grave. Will we see an era of "pets over people" take hold? According to a survey by the Pet Food Association, the number of new pets (dogs and c…