By Yang Yuan-ting and Sam Garcia / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) is developing standardized educational materials for pet care professionals to ensure quality of training across institutions, and plans to work with the Ministry of Labor to introduce a pet care technician certificate, an MOA official said.
The growing pet market is driving demand for pet care professionals, but training materials remain inconsistent in quality and content, the MOA said.
To standardize pet care professionals’ expertise, the ministry has commissioned the Chinese Society of Animal Science to compile professional teaching materials covering pet care, physiology and nutrition, it said.
A pet groomer inspects a dog at a pet shop in Taipei in an undated photograph.
Photo: Yang Yuan-ting, Taipei Times
The materials would be published as early as 2028 for use at high schools, vocational schools and colleges offering programs in animal science, veterinary medicine and related fields, it said.
The ministry previously published guides for dogs and cats focusing on basic care and how to live with pets, including appropriate foods and basic information on the Animal Protection Act (動保法), Department of Animal Welfare Deputy Director Chen Chung-hsing (陳中興) said last month.
The new materials would be professional reference books rather than guides for general pet owners, with the first phase focusing on common pets such as dogs and cats, he said.
Although specific pet businesses engaged in dog or cat breeding, sales or boarding must have at least one staff member who meets one of several qualifications, including completion of 200 hours of professional training and receipt of a certificate of completion, course materials are not standardized, with different schools of thought sometimes offering conflicting guidance and some materials focusing on specialized small-animal veterinary medicine, Chen said.
The new materials would provide standardized references for training pet care professionals and help students develop more advanced professional knowledge, he said.
The Ministry of Labor already has some relevant certifications, including one for pet grooming, and once standardized teaching materials are in place, the ministries would work together to introduce a pet care technician certification, he said.
No launch date has been set as details still need to be discussed, he added.