(CN) Beijing to safeguard animal welfare

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Sunday, July 01, 2007 9:24 AM

[AntiFurSociety] Beijing to safeguard animal welfare

 

 

Though many people in China continue to see dog meat as a delicacy, some of

their peers have begun to accept the idea of animal welfare.

 

A group of animal welfare organisations will be designated to house stray

animals in the nation's capital, according to sources with the Beijing

Agriculture Bureau.

 

Negotiations are under way between the bureau and related city government

departments on the issue.

 

Under the financial support of the city agricultural bureau and the

municipal government, the designated animal shelters will be required to provide

free vaccination and veterinary services for the homeless animals they house.

 

At the annual session of the municipal legislature early this year, some

policy makers advanced proposals on formulating a law of small animal

protection.

 

Beijing has worked out a package of detailed measures to implement the

Animal Epidemic Prevention Law of China and eight sets of supporting rules,

including regulations on animal shelter and control.

 

The animal shelter rules cover stray animals, animals abandoned by their

owners and animals in danger. Animal shelters in Beijing should provide food,

drinking water and vet services for the animals they accomodate, and should take

measures to prevent the animals from being injured, harrassed and abused.

 

Officials with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said that

there are about a dozen animal shelters in Beijing, with most of them operating

in an overloaded manner. An animal shelter in Xiaotangshan, on the city's

outskirts, alone has accomodated approximately 500 stray animals, a number

already far beyond its capacity.

 

The IFAW was " very pleased that the municipal government has decided to

engage in the animal sheltering, " according to the IFAW officials. The

international institution has also voiced its hope that Beijing will promulgate

special rules to punish pet abandonment, the officials added.

 

Besides government efforts, some individuals in China have become

believers in the concept of animal welfare.

 

Zhang Yi, head of an association of small animals in eastern China's

largest metropolis Shanghai, has donated more than 2 million yuan (about 241,000

US dollars) to adopt nearly 1,000 dogs and cats.

 

Not only have their perceptions about urban pets and homeless animals

changed, more and more Chinese have also changed their traditional ideas about

animals kept in zoos.

 

Since late March this year, the Shanghai Wildlife Park has stopped feeding

tigers and lions with live chickens and rabbits to protect the welfare of the

latter.

 

Prior to the move, 25 wild animal parks from some major Chinese cities,

including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, signed a letter pledging to ensure

animal welfare.

 

" Wild animal parks have taken a lead in China to pay attention to animal

welfare. This is significant for building a harmonious relationship between

humans and animals, " said Feng Zuojian, secretary-general of the China Animal

Society.

 

http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/Tour/News/t245671.htm