英女王が愛したコーギー、販売価格急騰

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】今月死去した英国のエリザベス女王がペットとして長年愛してきた犬「コーギー」の販売価格が、先週執り行われた女王の国葬終了後に急騰している。英国最大のペット取引サイト「Ｐｅｔｓ４Ｈｏｍｅｓ」が明らかにした（写真はバッキンガム宮殿の廊下を歩くエリザベス女王＜左から２人目＞、ジェームズ・ボンドを演じる英俳優のダニエル・クレイグ氏＜左＞、コーギー＜右＞。２０１２年ロンドン五輪開会式で放映されたテレビ映像より）
　Ｐｅｔｓ４Ｈｏｍｅｓは今週、「コーギーの検索件数が前週の１０倍になっている」とし、「ブリーダーが提示する販売価格は現時点（２６日）で過去最高となっている。直近３日間で平均価格は２倍に跳ね上がった」とＡＦＰに述べた。
　ペット犬の需要はパンデミック（世界的な大流行）の影響で急激に高まったが、女王の死去を受けてコーギーの販売価格はさらに急騰。このほど初めて２５００ポンド（約３９万円）を上回った。コーギーは最も小さな牧羊犬の一種だ。
　一世紀近くにわたってエリザベス女王のそばに寄り添ってきたコーギーは、王室の中で最も誠実な存在だったとも言える。
　英ケネル・クラブのマーク・ビーズリー最高責任者は、「１８歳のときに父親のジョージ６世から最初のコーギー、スーザンをプレゼントされてから、エリザベス女王はウェルシュ・コーギー・ペンブロークを愛するようになった」と説明した。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/09/29-14:25）

Prices for corgis, the dogs beloved by the late Queen Elizabeth II, have doubled to new highs since the monarch's funeral last week, the UK's largest pet marketplace said Monday.
Pets4Homes told AFP it was currently experiencing over ten times the volume of daily searches for corgis when compared to this time last week.
It added: The prices asked for by registered corgi breeders have today hit a new high, with average asking prices doubling over the past three days.
One of the small herding dogs now sells for over £2,500 ($2,678) for the first time, even outstripping prices reached during the pandemic, when demand spiked for four-legged companions.
The queen's corgis were the most loyal of all the monarch's servants, providing domestic companionship during nearly a century in the public glare.
The little, mainly sandy-coloured dogs with pointy ears were a busy presence in the queen's court, following her from room to room and featuring in official photos.
They were even given a starring role in the spoof James Bond clip filmed with the queen for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.
The queen, whose funeral was last Monday, stopped raising corgis in her 90s so as not to leave them orphaned after her death.
Nevertheless, the queen still kept two dorgis -- dachshund and corgi crosses -- to keep her company in her final years.
The queen was, amongst many things, a world-famous dog lover and really did symbolise the love and affection that our nation holds for their dogs, Mark Beazley, Kennel Club chief executive, told AFP.
She was especially known for her Welsh Pembroke Corgis after being gifted her first Corgi, Susan, by her father, King George VI when she was eighteen, he added.
The queen was so fond of her corgis that she personally supervised their daily meal, according to Pets by Royal Appointment, by author Brian Hoey, a book on British royal pets since the 16th century.
The dogs' dinners of fillet steak and chicken breast were prepared by a footman and served at 5:00 pm sharp every day, with the queen playing servant, pouring the gravy on the feast.