Panic hits dogs owners in Beijing

[Guest guest]

ACTAsia Press Statement

 

Over 35cm Condemned to death

 

Panic hits dog owners in Beijing

 

What if you had to hide your dog from the authorities, or take it

away from your home to stop it from being beaten to death? If you

were a dog owner in Beijing, and you happened to own a German

Shepherd, St Bernard, Golden Retriever, Husky, Collie, Shetland

Sheepdog or even a Cocker Spaniel, you could get a visit from the

authorities. They have been given the power to enter your home and

drag your canine friend away. Your dog's only fault could be its

size - any dog above 35cm in height has been classified as 'big' in Beijing, and

these dogs, along with others on the 'dangerous' list, are no longer allowed in

major parts of the city.

 

Inhumane destruction of dogs is nothing new in China - in July this

year, more than 50,000 dogs were killed by the authorities because of a rabies

scare. Methods used included electrocution, strangulation,

poison and even beating them to death. Beijing appears to be

following up on this policy by enforcing a 2003 regulation which does

not allow the keeping of 41 'dangerous' breeds or any breed

with a height of more than 35cm (14 inches) in its 8 focused

management areas. From November 7th, the authorities will enter

people's homes to confiscate, and presumably kill, any dog that does

not meet its regulations. All unlicensed animals, and any house with

more than one dog, will also be affected in the same way. The city

claims that it will remove all 'big' and 'dangerous' dogs from

Beijing within a month. There an estimated 1 million pet dogs in

Beijing, of which just above half are registered.[ii]

It is admirable that Beijing is trying to enforce dog management

policies to solve issues such as dog bites, rabies and environmental

pollution - however, their inhumane and irrational methods are not

going to improve the situation. The Beijing authorities have made a

direct connection between the size of a dog and the danger it poses

to humans. This does not appear to have any supporting evidence, as

many of the breeds on their list are not seen as dangerous in other

parts of the world. Also, any large dog is supposedly a danger, which is totally

unscientific.

Ostensibly this sudden crackdown is due to the spread of rabies,

increasing stray populations, and, according to one Beijing official, concern

that 'big' dogs are causing fear in the public, particularly

in the elderly, children and pregnant women, and they also attack

other dogs. [iii]

However, that does not explain the sudden decision

to enforce a 3-year-old regulation. Sceptics in China have put

forward other reasons - it is possible that this is a step taken for

the approaching Olympics, a precursor to banning pet ownership, or a

reaction to the adverse media coverage of the summer's dog massacre.

Thousands of dog owners in Beijing have reacted with concern and

distress to this new action by the authorities. Pei-feng Su,

Executive Director of ACTAsia for Animals, commented: " This policy

will cost thousands of friendly dogs their lives. It is likely that

these unreasonable measures will spread to the rest of the country,

causing many more inhumane deaths. We urge the Beijing municipality

to amend its current list of dangerous breeds, and cancel height

restrictions for licences. "

Professor Zu, Epidemiology Professor at An Huei University,

comments: " There are many effective measures that can be taken to

control and prevent rabies in China, for example, promoting

responsible ownership, mass vaccination, improving rabies vaccine

quality in China, and keeping rural animals out of urban areas. Mass

culling appears to be an easy option for rabies control, but its

ineffectiveness has been proved by collaborative studies with the WHO in many

countries. "

ACTAsia urges the Beijing authorities to implement humane dog

management and follow WHO-recommended mass dog vaccinations as an

effective rabies control policy. [iv] ACTAsia has also sent guidelines and

suggestions on humane dog population management and rabies control to the

Chinese authorities, and asks them to examine these guidelines and implement a

more humane, effective policy in the country.

Email: info

Website: www.actasia.org

ACTAsia for Animals is an organisation set up by experienced Asian

animal activists to develop and promote sustainable and professional

animal advocacy. ACTAsia represents Action and Compassion Together.

ACTAsia is currently based in India, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

Relevant news articles and image links:

News articles in Chinese

Beijing focuses on checking big dogs, aims to have no dogs over 35cm

in height by the end of the year in Beijing's prioritised areas:

03/11/06

http://beijing.qianlong.com/3825/2006/11/03/134 (AT) 3491446 (DOT) htm

Shen Yang City Police conduct major dog-culling exercise; beat

unlicensed dogs on the streets: 02/11/06

http://www.news365.com.cn/gdtp/200611/t20061102_1158967.htm

From this month big (over 35cm in height) and unlicensed dogs found

in prioritised areas of Beijing will be confiscated: 01/11/06

http://beijing.qianlong.com/3825/2006/11/01/2540 (AT) 3488559 (DOT) htm

Next month Beijing authorities will enter people's homes searching

for big and unlicensed dogs: 26/10/06

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2006-10-26/010510325127s.shtml

Crackdown on homes with more than one dog in prioritised areas of

Beijing: 26/10/06

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2006-10-26/033511333989.shtml

Chang Chuan city cracks down on illegal dog keeping. From today dogs

cannot be walked between 7:00am - 7:00pm: 13/10/06

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2006-10-13/004411221998.shtml

Wu Hang city sets up a team of 300 people for culling: 25/10/06

http://www.wh.ccoo.cn/news/newsShow.asp?id=207913

News articles in English

Beijing starts to remove stray dogs from streets: 26/10/06

http://en.ce.cn/National/Local/200610/26/t20061026_9144341.shtml

Beijing reinforces supervision on dog ownership: 24/10/06

http://www.chinanews.cn/news/2005/2006-10-24/29161.html

References:

List of dangerous dog breeds (Chinese) according to the Beijing

Dog Keeping Regulations, 2003. http://beijing.qianlong.com/

3825/2006/10/08/2540[ii] Xinhua Online 22/10/06

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-10/22/content_5235012.htm

[iii] Beijing Evening News Article 01/11/06 http://

Beijing.qianlong.com/3825/2006/11/01/2540

[iv] WHO 'Controlling rabies in dogs: what to do' 'what to avoid

doing?' http://www.who.int/rabies/animal/dogs/en/index.html