Los Angeles Times article about Chinese dog massacre

[Guest guest]

>from the Los Angeles Times:

>

>50,000 Dogs Are Killed to Stem Rabies Outbreak

>

>By Ching-Ching Ni, Times Staff Writer

>11:10 PM PDT, August 3, 2006

>

>Beijing -- For the dog killers, it was so easy. Arrive under the

>cloak of darkness. Bang on pots and pans. Set off firecrackers.

>Their prey would bark and then meet certain death, beaten on the

>spot with a wooden mop handle.

>

>That was one of the ways authorities in southwestern China managed

>to annihilate the entire dog population of a county within five

>days. More than 50,000 canines were killed in the campaign last week

>aimed at stemming a rabies outbreak. About 360 of the area's 200,000

>residents had been bitten by dogs this summer, and three of them

>died, including a 4-year-old girl.

>

>The only dogs spared were military and police canines. For each dead

>animal, owners were compensated 60 cents.

>

> " With the aim to keep this horrible disease from people, we decided

>to kill the dogs, " Li Haibo, a government spokesman for Mouding

>County in Yunnan province, was quoted as saying by the official New

>China News Agency.

>

>This may be the Year of the Dog in China, an auspicious zodiac sign

>that has prompted countless couples to rush to the altar and have

>babies in hopes of providing them with a lucky start on life. But

>dogs are not always treated as man's best friend here.

>

>According to Chinese tradition, dogs have three reasons to exist: to

>hunt other animals, to guard homes and to be served as food. The

>idea of dogs as pets is a relative novelty.

>

>During the austere days of communist rule, cats and dogs practically

>disappeared from daily life, rejected as symbols of bourgeois

>materialism and shunned by the masses.

>

>But since China embarked on capitalist-style reforms two decades

>ago, dogs have become status symbols and companions in an

>increasingly alienated society. Beijing has more than 400,000

>registered dogs.

>

>Even so, authorities conduct frequent raids to kill strays and

>confiscate dogs considered too large for city living.

>

>Activists point out that China has no laws to protect animals,

>except for endangered species. Education about rabies prevention

>remains poor and rabies-related deaths are on the rise. The dog

>vaccination rate is about 3 percent, according to the Chinese Center

>for Disease Control and Prevention.

>

> " Pet ownership is now a way of life in China. The government must

>come up with a rational and humane way of managing this phenomenon, "

>said Jeff He, a spokesman for the Beijing office of the

>International Fund for Animal Welfare, which sent a protest letter

>to Mouding County officials. " This kind of extreme action can only

>tarnish China's international image. "

>

>County residents interviewed by phone said the killing appeared

>indiscriminate. They said about 4,000 dogs already vaccinated

>against rabies were among those slaughtered, because of the slight

>chance they could spread the disease.

>

>Before the massacre began, authorities gave dog owners a chance to

>do the dirty work themselves.

>

>Xu Jiajin, a 70-year-old farmer, said his village had about 90

>families and more than 100 dogs. The villagers were told the dogs

>had to be killed by July 27 and buried in five mass graves, each big

>enough to hold about 20 carcasses.

>

> " It's an order -- we had no choice but to obey, " Xu said from his home.

>

>Like most villagers, his family chose to hang its dog on a tree near

>its home. If not, the family was told, the dog could be buried alive.

>

>To prevent any dogs from leaving town, authorities set up

>checkpoints on all major roads leading into and out of the county.

>Any dogs found in vehicles were subject to immediate execution.

>

>

>Links to other articles:

>

><http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5233704.stm>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi\

/asia-pacific/5233704.stm

>

><http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/china-orders-mass-slaughter-of-dogs/20060\

801000009990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001>http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/chin\

a-orders-mass-slaughter-of-dogs/20060801000009990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

>

>

 

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