Pets highlighted at fair Cao Xuiwen The four-day Second Shenzhen International Pet Fair opened at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center on Thursday with 300 exhibitors displaying pet food, pet apps, pet photos and a variety of medical equipment. The event features activities that keep both the audience and their pets entertained. “The fair aims to provide a platform for pet lovers and pet industries to communicate and enrich knowledge about pets for our citizens,” said Luo Aiqin, the organizer. The pet market has developed rapidly and is in the early stages of a huge pet industry chain. But compared with foreign countries, knowledge about keeping pets in China is still poor, which is also a big problem for the development of the pet economy. “Thanks to the fair, our pet industries have opportunities to find solutions together by learning from other countries,” said Sun Ming, vice president of Ringpu Bio-technology Co. Ltd. He said consumers need to be careful and try to choose legitimate brand products. The government also needs to step up law enforcement. “Compared with Beijing, Shenzhen is more focused on marketing and investment. People in Shenzhen are also very friendly,” said Renan Tanguy, a senior executive of Virbac, an independent pharmaceutical laboratory dedicated to animal health that has operated in China for over 20 years. According to Luo, the fair is expected to attract 100,000 visitors over 4 days. The fair last year attracted over 100 exhibitors and 60,000 pet lovers.