《经济学人》双语：为什么年轻人养宠物的花费多于养孩子?

原文标题：
Raining cats and dogs
People are splurging like never before on their pets
Would you buy your furry companion a cologne?
倾盆大雨
人们在宠物身上的花费空前多
你会给你的宠物买古龙水吗？

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AMONG THE products of DOG by Dr Lisa, an Australian pet-care brand, you will find a cleanser for sensitive skin, a soothing balm and a cologne.
在澳大利亚宠物护理品牌“丽莎博士的狗狗“用品系列中，你可以找到敏感皮肤清洁剂、舒缓膏和古龙水。

All are free of genetically modified ingredients—and vegan, which dogs are not, at least by choice.
所有产品均不含转基因成分，且为纯素食，尽管狗狗们并非出于自愿而成为素食者。

Still, canines craving meat need not eat like animals: Butternut Box, a maker of fresh pet food taste-tested by humans, can offer your furry friend a low-fat chicken dish with peas, lentils and “a whiff of sage”. It is the most popular meal it offers.
不过，想吃肉的狗狗也不必像动物那样进食：Butternut Box是一家经过人类口味测试的新鲜宠物食品生产商，它们可以为你的宠物提供低脂鸡肉配豌豆、扁豆和“一抹鼠尾草香”的佳肴。这是它们最受欢迎的宠物食品。

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There is little, it seems, that people won’t do for their pets.

人们似乎对宠物宠爱有加，几乎愿意为它们做任何事情。

Americans spent $186bn on them last year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, covering everything from food and vet visits to toys and grooming.

根据美国经济分析局的数据，去年美国人在宠物身上花费了1860亿美元，涵盖了宠物食品、兽医诊疗、玩具、美容等各个方面。

That is more than they spent on childcare. Catering to pets has become big business.

这比他们花在育儿上的钱还要多。宠物护理已经成为一门大生意。

Mars, a company best known for its chocolate bars, made two-thirds of its revenue last year from pet-care.

以巧克力闻名的玛氏公司，去年2/3的营收来自宠物护理业务。

Besides owning the Royal Canin pet-food brand, the company also operates thousands of vet clinics.

玛氏公司不仅拥有皇家宠物食品品牌，还经营着数千家兽医诊所。

Nestlé and Colgate, two other consumer-products giants, also make around a fifth of their revenue from their pet divisions.
同样，雀巢和高露洁这两家消费品巨头也有大约1/5的营收来自宠物部门。

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Spending on pets rocketed through the covid-19 pandemic, as lonely people adopted animals then splurged on them.
新冠期间，由于孤独感促使人们领养宠物，并在它们身上大肆花费，宠物支出急剧上升。

Between 2019 and 2023 pet spending grew by a compound annual rate of 11%, in nominal terms, compared with 6% for consumer spending overall and 5% for pet spending over the preceding decade (see chart).
Plenty more growth is yet to come.
2019-2023年间，宠物支出的复合年增长率为11%，相比之下，同期总体消费者支出的增长率为6%，而前10年宠物支出的增长率为5%（见图表）。未来还有更多的增长空间。

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Unlike virtual yoga classes or meal-kit subscriptions, animals weren’t easy to drop once lockdowns ended.
与虚拟瑜伽课或膳食套餐服务不同，宠物在解封后并不容易被抛弃。

Consumers, grappling lately with higher prices and a cooling job market, have been reluctant to inflict austerity on their pets.
近来，尽管消费者面临着物价上涨和就业市场降温的双重压力，但人们也不愿对宠物实施紧缩政策。

Morgan Stanley, a bank, reckons pet spending in America will grow by 2.5% this year, well ahead of estimates for, say, clothes.
摩根士丹利银行预计，今年美国的宠物支出将增长2.5%，远高于服装等其他行业的预期。

The pet business proved similarly resilient during the global financial crisis of 2007-09.
事实上，在2007-2009年全球金融危机期间，宠物行业也展现出了类似的韧性。

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And analysts reckon the pet business will soon have the zoomies again.
分析师认为，宠物行业很快就会再次迎来快速增长。

Morgan Stanley forecasts that annual spending will rise to around $260bn by 2030, consistent with its pre-pandemic growth trend.
摩根士丹利预测，到2030年，宠物行业的年度支出将达到约2600亿美元，这与疫情前的增长趋势保持一致。

Behind that is a shift in the relationship between pets and humans. Owners increasingly see themselves as parents, not masters.
这背后是宠物与人类之间关系的转变。人们越来越多地将自己视为宠物父母，而不是宠物主人。

“Pets have gone from the backyard to the living room to the bedroom,” says Loïc Moutault, head of the pet division at Mars.
玛氏宠物部门负责人洛伊克·穆托说：“宠物已经从后院走进了客厅，甚至卧室。”

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That change is playing out across generations.
这种变化正在不同年龄层中逐渐显现。

Millennials, many of whom have put off having children, have more fur babies per household than any other generation in America. Gen Z is proving to be equally pet-loving.
许多千禧一代迟迟不肯生育，但他们每个家庭拥有的宠物数量比美国其他任何一代人都多。Z世代的年轻人也表现出对宠物的同样热爱。

 “Millennials and Gen Z see their pets differently,” says Kristin Peck, chief executive of Zoetis, a drugmaker for animals. “They really see them as part of their families.”
动物制药公司硕腾的首席执行官克里斯汀·佩克说：“千禧一代和 Z 世代对宠物的看法不同，他们真的把宠物视为家庭的一份子。”

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Dogs, cats and other animals lucky enough to be welcomed into such families are in for a treat.
那些有幸被这样家庭接纳的狗、猫和其他动物将会得到特别的宠爱。

Younger owners might take their pets to the vet more often, to the animals’ dismay, but they make up for it by giving them more presents.
年轻的主人可能会更频繁地带宠物去看兽医，这让动物们很不高兴，但他们会给宠物更多的礼物作补偿。

Some 95% of Gen Z owners surveyed last year by the American Pet Products Association, an industry group, said they bought their dog a gift at least once a year, compared with 81% of boomers.
去年，美国宠物产品协会对Z世代的宠物主人进行了调查，结果显示，约95%的受访者表示他们每年都会给狗狗至少买一次礼物，相比之下，婴儿潮一代的这一比例为81%。

The average cost of those gifts was a lavish $44 among Gen Z owners, compared with $17 among boomers.
在Z世代的宠物主人中，这些礼物的平均花费高达44美元，而婴儿潮一代的平均花费仅为17美元。

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Owners are also now giving their pets yummier food.
如今，宠物主人们还会给宠物们提供更加美味的食物。

At Freshpet, an American pet-food producer founded in 2006, sales are more than double what they were three years ago.
Freshpet是一家成立于2006年的美国宠物食品生产商，公司销售额是三年前的两倍多。

It only uses natural ingredients. William Cyr, its boss, says the firm is gaining from the “humanisation” of pets. “Canned dog food was invented in 1922,” Mr Cyr says. “And it smells like it.”
该公司只使用天然原料。公司老板威廉·赛尔说：“公司从宠物的“人性化”趋势中获益。罐装狗粮是在1922年发明的，而且现在闻起来也像那个时代一样。”

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All this is attracting plenty of newcomers to the pet industry.
以上因素都在吸引众多企业涌入宠物行业。

Private-equity firms have poured so much money into buying and consolidating vet clinics that they have caught the attention of antitrust regulators in America and Britain.
私募股权公司纷纷斥巨资收购和整合兽医诊所，此举已引起美国和英国反垄断监管机构的关注。

Earlier this month Gilles Andrier, the boss of Givaudan, a Swiss company that is the world’s largest manufacturer of flavours and fragrances, said his firm is eyeing the pet-food market.
本月早些时候，全球领先的香精香料制造商——瑞士奇华顿公司的首席执行官吉勒斯·安德里表示，他的公司正在密切关注宠物食品市场。

“People spend more money on pets than kids nowadays,” he explained. Best, then, to have a dog in the fight.
他解释说：“如今人们在宠物上的花费比在孩子身上的还要多。“因此，最好的办法就是参与宠物行业竞争。

（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇705左右）
原文出自：2024年9月14日《TE》Business版块

精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene
本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。

【重点句子】（3个）
That is more than they spent on childcare. Catering to pets has become big business.
这比他们花在育儿上的钱还要多。宠物护理已经成为一门大生意。

Behind that is a shift in the relationship between pets and humans. Owners increasingly see themselves as parents, not masters.
这背后是宠物与人类之间关系的转变。人们越来越多地将自己视为宠物父母，而不是宠物主人。

Millennials, many of whom have put off having children, have more fur babies per household than any other generation in America. Gen Z is proving to be equally pet-loving.
许多千禧一代迟迟不肯生育，但他们每个家庭拥有的宠物数量比美国其他任何一代人都多。Z世代的年轻人也表现出对宠物的同样热爱。