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The Chinese dog cull

 

Category: Public health preparedness

Posted on: August 3, 2006 6:31 AM, by revere

 

We've gotten pretty used to the idea that if H5N1 appears in birds it

is legitimate to slaughter birds wholesale within a certain distance

of the infected flock. In the west, birds are kept as caged pets by

some people but not huge numbers. In Indonesia and other countries,

however, birds are the kinds of companion animals that dogs and cats

are here. Keep that in mind when you consider this story.

 

In southwest China three people have died from rabies after being

bitten by dogs. Rabies is a pretty bad disease. Once you start

exhibiting symptoms it is essentially a death warrant (yes, I know

there have been two survivors described but they are great rarities

and were the subject of heroic intensive care efforts). If the

Chinese attitude towards dogs were the same as ours towards birds,

they'd institute a mass cull of dogs. And that's what they did:

A county in southwestern China has killed as many as 50,000 dogs in a

government-ordered campaign following the deaths of three local

people from rabies.

 

The five-day massacre in Yunnan province's Mouding county that ended

on Sunday spared only military guard dogs and police canine units,

the Shanghai Daily reported, citing local media.

 

Dogs being walked were taken from their owners and beaten to death on

the spot, it said.

 

Other killing teams entered villages at night creating noise to get

dogs barking, then homing in on their prey. Owners were offered five

yuan (34p) per animal to kill their own dogs before the teams were

sent in, it said. (AOL News)

 

Mrs. R. might get rid of me for five yuan, but to get our dog they'd

have to bring in the artillery and dispatch her first.

 

Comments

 

 

Damn bastards.

Posted by: Roman Werpachowski | August 3, 2006 07:32 AM

 

 

Our house is home to a golden retriever (Jack) and a Congo African

grey parrot (Nelson). They are equally very dear to me.

Posted by: HatTrick | August 3, 2006 08:13 AM

 

 

I am so glad my cats are indoor cats, cos when H5N1 hits my area, I

don't want them to be killed by random idiots in my city.

Posted by: Juliet | August 3, 2006 08:19 AM

 

 

yeah - my wife & I have had dogs for years - they try to beat my dogs

to death with a stick and they would find they should not bring a

stick to a gun fight :-)

Posted by: carl | August 3, 2006 09:42 AM

 

 

What do you expect from the Chinese?

 

I have never been so horrified as I was on my visit to China, walking

through an open air market and seeing a butcher with kittens caged,

ready to be beheaded and carved up for meat.

 

And I'm a dog guy.

Posted by: AF | August 3, 2006 09:45 AM

 

 

You wrote: " Mrs. R. might get rid of me for five yuan. "

 

If things get bad, tell Mrs. R. to put you on EBay. I'm sure you will

go for WAY more than five yuan!

Posted by: Path Forward | August 3, 2006 09:58 AM

 

 

Path Forward,

 

Don't forget to include shipping and handling!

Posted by: Melanie | August 3, 2006 10:13 AM

 

 

Heartless and unforgivable....

Anyone coming after my cats or my dogs will do it over my dead body.

And I promise I'll take out as many as I can before I hit the ground.

As to mandatory culling of my chickens should H5N1 hit close to home,

OK, maybe I wouldn't fight to the death on that one although I am

pretty attached to them. But I'll kill them all myself - mercifully

and out of eyesight of the live ones - before I'd let someone take

them away and gas them or crush them alive. Equally heartless and

unforgivable.

Posted by: cougar | August 3, 2006 12:13 PM

 

 

Good riddance; dogs are no better than overgrown rats.

Posted by: Coulter | August 3, 2006 02:25 PM

 

 

What a miserable place China must be to live in. You are only allowed

one kid, and if that kid is female you might well have to 'euthanize'

her for economic reasons and hope the next one is a boy. Then they

come and brutally kill your dog.

 

When there is talk of the sheer numbers of people in China being able

to overwhelm any other forces, I can't help but think many of them

couldn't be counted on. By and large they are people with the same

feelings as us. If someone killed my dog then ordered me to fight for

them I wouldn't be stupid enough to refuse, but let's just say I

wouldn't exactly be trustworthy.

 

And Roman - it's nice to see that you are in agreement for a change ;-)

Posted by: Dizzy | August 3, 2006 04:41 PM

 

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