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17.05.2012
Opening Ceremony of Interzoo 2012
- Greeting by Hans-Jochen Büngener,
Chairman of the Interzoo Exhibition Committee,
Treasurer of the German Pet Trade & Industry Association (ZZF)
Thursday, 17.5.2012, 11.30 a.m., in München hall, NCC Mitte, level 1
- Check against delivery! -
State Minister Dr. Beate Merk,
Lord Mayor Dr. Ulrich Maly,
Our Hosts Dr. Roland Fleck and Peter Ottmann,
President Norbert Holthenrich,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is May in an even year
and it is Ascension Day,
which means it is almost certainly Interzoo time.
I am delighted that you have accepted our invitation to the opening ceremony of the 32nd Interzoo, the 2012 edition. Dr. Merk, I am particularly pleased that you have kindly taken the time to open this year’s Interzoo.
Justice and pet-keeping are not automatically linked with each other, but certainly with the economic consumer protection for which your ministry is also responsible; as I have read and what directly connects you personally with us can be seen from the photo on your home page, which shows you together with your dog.
Interzoo is the world’s biggest industrial show of products for pets.
When we moved from Wiesbaden to Nürnberg in 1988, Oscar Schneider, the Federal Minister of Housing and Urban Development at that time, opened a trade fair with 445 exhibitors, of whom 57 per cent came from Germany. Dr. Merk, today you will open an exhibition with more than 1,500 exhibitors from 53 nations, who present their companies and products on more than 100,000m².
These figures show that the Interzoo trade fair has advanced – purely in terms of space – to the order of magnitude of the largest consumer exhibitions, such as the world’s biggest exhibition for food, agriculture and horticulture.
It would be nice if this could be regarded as a sign of people’s constantly increasing interest in their fellow creatures and their environment.
Whereas 43 per cent of the exhibitors in 1988 were from abroad, today's share is 79 per cent and the absolute figures are growing all the time. Besides Germany, the countries with the most exhibitors are China, Italy, Great Britain, the Netherlands, the USA, France, Belgium, Spain and Poland.
This success is due not least to the outstanding cooperation between the promoter WZF GmbH and the honorary sponsor ZZF on the one hand and NürnbergMesse on the other. I am therefore especially pleased today to welcome Dr. Hauck, our partner during the initial period, and Bernd Diederichs, our partner until last year.
When I mentioned consumer protection at the beginning, this was not just intended to establish a connection with the sphere of work of our guest speaker at our opening ceremony.
Consumer protection and consumer information are a major concern for the entire pet industry.
Product safety and controlled product quality also affect animal welfare and are important principles for a happy relationship between people and animals, to which this industry contributes.
This is what we are constantly aware of and the aim of our thoughts during product development.
Without wishing to belittle the importance of functioning machines, we are not just responsible for ensuring that a machine doesn’t stop working, but also for the fellow creatures entrusted to us or those we have become familiar with. We also bear the responsibility for ensuring that pet lovers can be perfectly happy with their animals.
Proper food, suitable systems for keeping pets and information to help pet owners care for and keep their pets in line with animal welfare requirements – these are our areas of responsibility.
Animal rights activists dismiss all those concerned with pets with the comment that “They earn money with animals”. Of course this is what this industry does. According to a study on dogs by the University of Göttingen, a good 100,000 people are involved (from veterinarians and pet shops to discounters).
We don’t earn money at the cost of the animals, however, but through their well-being and happiness. It is our profession and our mission to create the foundation for a happy and uncomplicated life together for people and pets.
This industry and its products contribute towards creating well-being, avoiding loneliness, optimizing the socialization of children and young people, and even enabling old people to be aware of their environment for a longer time than would be possible without contact with animals. This is proved by innumerable scientific studies in Germany and abroad.
Anyone who does this should also be allowed to earn a living from his profession with pride and the awareness of making a positive contribution.
Like the whole of society, the pet industry is also affected by the demographic change.
Whereas a few years ago it was young families with children and their own house in rural areas that typically kept dogs, we are meanwhile rapidly approaching a share of almost two-thirds in the age range from 40 to over 70 years among dog and cat owners. The positive aspect of the unavoidable ageing of our society with regard to keeping dogs and cats is that it is no longer the animals that the grown-up children leave at home. No, especially older and old people are actively taking in pets again. People have realized that a pet can work wonders for the soul, mind and social behaviour.
The trend to smaller dogs and the advance of cat ownership may be a result of the changing age structure of pet keepers.
I would like to encourage you further with a few details – some of them astonishing and some actually expected – from our new representative survey of pet-keeping in households in Germany:
If you take a look at the products on display this year, you will see many new and improved products as always – whether in the food segment, where the products take into account ageing animals and their naturally occurring health problems, or the increased appearance of smaller breeds. The new technology in the aquaria segment is intended to help adapt this attractive hobby to a modern lifestyle and offer the animals optimized living conditions at the same time.
Of course, the accessories segment is always being constantly developed too. This segment also contributes to the well-being of the animals with suitable materials. Obviously, a really smart collar with matching lead has the potential to make the dog’s mistress feel better as well. The minimum requirement here is also: anything is allowed that doesn’t harm the animal or adversely affect its well-being.
Keeping pets is intended to be a pleasure and create a feeling of happiness.
I hope this 32nd Interzoo in 2012 will also bring pleasure to all exhibitors and visitors and create a feeling of happiness on looking back after the exhibition.
On this note, I wish everyone a successful exhibition.
- Check against delivery! -
State Minister Dr. Beate Merk,
Lord Mayor Dr. Ulrich Maly,
Our Hosts Dr. Roland Fleck and Peter Ottmann,
President Norbert Holthenrich,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is May in an even year
and it is Ascension Day,
which means it is almost certainly Interzoo time.
I am delighted that you have accepted our invitation to the opening ceremony of the 32nd Interzoo, the 2012 edition. Dr. Merk, I am particularly pleased that you have kindly taken the time to open this year’s Interzoo.
Justice and pet-keeping are not automatically linked with each other, but certainly with the economic consumer protection for which your ministry is also responsible; as I have read and what directly connects you personally with us can be seen from the photo on your home page, which shows you together with your dog.
Interzoo is the world’s biggest industrial show of products for pets.
When we moved from Wiesbaden to Nürnberg in 1988, Oscar Schneider, the Federal Minister of Housing and Urban Development at that time, opened a trade fair with 445 exhibitors, of whom 57 per cent came from Germany. Dr. Merk, today you will open an exhibition with more than 1,500 exhibitors from 53 nations, who present their companies and products on more than 100,000m².
These figures show that the Interzoo trade fair has advanced – purely in terms of space – to the order of magnitude of the largest consumer exhibitions, such as the world’s biggest exhibition for food, agriculture and horticulture.
It would be nice if this could be regarded as a sign of people’s constantly increasing interest in their fellow creatures and their environment.
Whereas 43 per cent of the exhibitors in 1988 were from abroad, today's share is 79 per cent and the absolute figures are growing all the time. Besides Germany, the countries with the most exhibitors are China, Italy, Great Britain, the Netherlands, the USA, France, Belgium, Spain and Poland.
This success is due not least to the outstanding cooperation between the promoter WZF GmbH and the honorary sponsor ZZF on the one hand and NürnbergMesse on the other. I am therefore especially pleased today to welcome Dr. Hauck, our partner during the initial period, and Bernd Diederichs, our partner until last year.
When I mentioned consumer protection at the beginning, this was not just intended to establish a connection with the sphere of work of our guest speaker at our opening ceremony.
Consumer protection and consumer information are a major concern for the entire pet industry.
Product safety and controlled product quality also affect animal welfare and are important principles for a happy relationship between people and animals, to which this industry contributes.
This is what we are constantly aware of and the aim of our thoughts during product development.
Without wishing to belittle the importance of functioning machines, we are not just responsible for ensuring that a machine doesn’t stop working, but also for the fellow creatures entrusted to us or those we have become familiar with. We also bear the responsibility for ensuring that pet lovers can be perfectly happy with their animals.
Proper food, suitable systems for keeping pets and information to help pet owners care for and keep their pets in line with animal welfare requirements – these are our areas of responsibility.
Animal rights activists dismiss all those concerned with pets with the comment that “They earn money with animals”. Of course this is what this industry does. According to a study on dogs by the University of Göttingen, a good 100,000 people are involved (from veterinarians and pet shops to discounters).
We don’t earn money at the cost of the animals, however, but through their well-being and happiness. It is our profession and our mission to create the foundation for a happy and uncomplicated life together for people and pets.
This industry and its products contribute towards creating well-being, avoiding loneliness, optimizing the socialization of children and young people, and even enabling old people to be aware of their environment for a longer time than would be possible without contact with animals. This is proved by innumerable scientific studies in Germany and abroad.
Anyone who does this should also be allowed to earn a living from his profession with pride and the awareness of making a positive contribution.
Like the whole of society, the pet industry is also affected by the demographic change.
Whereas a few years ago it was young families with children and their own house in rural areas that typically kept dogs, we are meanwhile rapidly approaching a share of almost two-thirds in the age range from 40 to over 70 years among dog and cat owners. The positive aspect of the unavoidable ageing of our society with regard to keeping dogs and cats is that it is no longer the animals that the grown-up children leave at home. No, especially older and old people are actively taking in pets again. People have realized that a pet can work wonders for the soul, mind and social behaviour.
The trend to smaller dogs and the advance of cat ownership may be a result of the changing age structure of pet keepers.
I would like to encourage you further with a few details – some of them astonishing and some actually expected – from our new representative survey of pet-keeping in households in Germany:
- Cats tend to be kept more by women and live mainly in households with 1-2 persons.
- Dogs are kept more by older people in family households (2 or more persons) in rural areas, where there are many detached houses with gardens.
- Aquarists are younger (78per cent from 14 to 49 years) and very frequently live in families with children.
If you take a look at the products on display this year, you will see many new and improved products as always – whether in the food segment, where the products take into account ageing animals and their naturally occurring health problems, or the increased appearance of smaller breeds. The new technology in the aquaria segment is intended to help adapt this attractive hobby to a modern lifestyle and offer the animals optimized living conditions at the same time.
Of course, the accessories segment is always being constantly developed too. This segment also contributes to the well-being of the animals with suitable materials. Obviously, a really smart collar with matching lead has the potential to make the dog’s mistress feel better as well. The minimum requirement here is also: anything is allowed that doesn’t harm the animal or adversely affect its well-being.
Keeping pets is intended to be a pleasure and create a feeling of happiness.
I hope this 32nd Interzoo in 2012 will also bring pleasure to all exhibitors and visitors and create a feeling of happiness on looking back after the exhibition.
On this note, I wish everyone a successful exhibition.
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