(CN) from 2006: A quiet but dogged advocacy

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Reporting the latest news on China's social development

 

 

 

 

A quiet but dogged advocacy

 

 

Sun, 2006-10-15 16:54

 

 

 

Driven barking mad by information requests from foreign correspondents and

researchers keen to investigate environmental or labour rights activism as a

manifestation of China¡¯s civil society, China Development Brief thought

there must be a better litmus of state-society relations, grounded in the

hopes and deeds of ordinary people. Like, say, dog owners. Chang Tianle (³£

ÌìÀÖ) sniffs out the story.

 

Zhao Jian (ÕÔ½¡), a 59-year-old Beijing doctor, has written 17 emails to

various government agencies over the past five months. The reason? To get

his husky properly registered. Without a license, the police could take the

dog away at any time.

 

According to city regulations, dogs taller than 35 centimetres are not

allowed in certain parts of the city. Zhao¡¯s 16-month-old husky, Haha,

violates the regulation by 15 centimetres.

 

Zhao was not aware of the rule when he took Haha home last June. When he

went to police to register the dog, he was told that they could not issue a

license because the dog was too tall. ¡°That¡¯s how I became an illegal dog

owner,¡± Zhao says.

 

Since then, he has written to the Beijing mayor, People¡¯s Congress and

media urging the government to change the policy. ¡°Although my dog is quite

big, it is not aggressive. Indeed, it is gentle and obedient . . . And we do

whatever the government requests a dog owner to do,¡± he wrote in one of the

letters. ¡°I¡¯d like to know, whether it [being an illegal dog owner] is our

fault, or is there something wrong the government regulation.¡±

 

Four of his emails received replies saying that his letters had been

forwarded to the relevant departments, but he never heard anything more.

 

Under the pen-name ¡°Gala¡± (¸ÂÀ­), he has also written over 30 articles and

numerous Internet postings, widely re-published on Internet pet forums. In

one of his posts, Zhao called for pet owners to follow his example and write

to the government: ¡°This is a practical and good opportunity for us to

protect our beloved dogs and their right to life. So let¡¯s take action!¡±

The post received overwhelming support from dog lovers, who replied that

they would follow his lead.

 

Hot under the collar

 

Zhao is not alone in his concerns. Tens of thousands of pet owners and

animal lovers are dissatisfied with the laws and regulations that govern

domestic animals and their owners. Some come together and form organisations

to push the government to revise the regulations.

 

So far, China has only one national law regarding animal protection: the Law

On the Protection of Wildlife, the purpose of which, according to Wu Tianyu

(ÎâÌìÓñ), Chairwoman of Animal Rescue Beijing (ARB£¬º£µíÇøÁÖÒµÀϿƼ¼ÕßЭ»á¶¯

Îï¾ÈÖú·Ö»á), is to regulate the wildlife trade, rather than protecting

wildlife.

 

With rapid growth of China¡¯s pet population over the last decade, most

provinces and major cities have issued local regulations on keeping domestic

animals. Before the 1990¡¯s, keeping dogs was basically banned in most

cities.

 

Many animal protection organisations have actively participated in

consultation processes during the drafting of regulations. ARB members went

to a series of animal legislative hearings in Beijing and voiced their

opinions, and also submitted their ideas to the legislative bodies. One

result of their efforts, says Wu, was that in 1995, when Beijing¡¯s enacted

its first regulation allowing dogs to be kept, the licence fee for each dog

was put at CNY 5,000, instead of CNY 12,000 as originally planned.

 

That regulation puts rigid restrictions on dog owners, with the high licence

fee expected to discourage people from keeping dogs. But it did not deter

people from bringing dogs into their homes. Many dog owners paid the fee and

registered their dogs, but even more decided that CNY 5,000 was more than

they could afford and simply kept animals illegally.

 

From time to time, the Beijing government launches campaigns to detain or

even kill un-registered dogs. According to ARB¡¯s Wu Tianyu, in 2001, some

100,000 unlicensed dogs were killed, leading to a 33% cut in Beijing¡¯s dog

population.

 

¡°The 1995 regulation was far too unfair on dog owners and created many

conflicts between the owners and police,¡± says Qin Xiaona (ÇØФÄÈ), Chair

of the Capital Animal Welfare Association (CAWA£¬Ê׶¼°®»¤¶¯ÎïЭ»á).

 

Qin and her colleagues translated animal regulations from foreign countries

into Chinese as reference for legislation bodies. They also had the chance

to talk to Beijing¡¯s top officials and tried to win their support.

 

In early 2003, Beijing published the draft of new dog raising regulation to

solicit public opinions. Organisations like ARB and CAWA immediately

reviewed it and wrote feedback to the government.

 

¡°We knew that our opinions would not be fully reflected in the final

regulation, but we had to express ourselves. If we kept quiet, it would be

regarded as acquiescence,¡± Wu says.

 

The new regulation, enacted in October 2003, has greatly relaxed controls on

keeping dogs. The licence fee was reduced from CNY 5,000 to CNY 1,000 per

dog. But the new rules have still been criticised for not protecting dog

owners¡¯rights.

 

¡°Dog owners pay CNY 1,000 and get nothing,¡± Qin says. ¡°Beijing receives

over CNY 200 million a year in dog licence fees. The government should use

that money to do something for the dogs and their owners,¡± she adds.

 

Wu and Qin, as well as other dog owners, say fundamental revisions are

needed to fully reflect the rights of dogs and their owners.

 

Government learns to listen

 

Li Gongtian (ÀÌï), Vice-chair of the Beijing Law Society, a

government-backed professional association, says that law-makers take public

opinion into serious consideration during the legislation process. The

Society recently began a study of legislation on pets in cities, the result

of which will be submitted to the Beijing government and People¡¯s Congress

for future legislation revision and reference.

 

He says the dog population is expanding so quickly that rules written three

years ago might not cope with the current situation. At the end of 2002,

there were nearly 140,000 registered dogs in Beijing. The number climbed to

330,000 a year later. Now there are more than 540,000 registered dogs in

Beijing, and some estimate that there are an equal number of unregistered

dogs, putting the total dog population at one million.

 

¡°When social condition and situation change, laws should also change. But

it takes time,¡± says Li.

 

In the study, researchers and experts at Beijing Law Society will do

surveys, distribute questionnaires and hold symposiums to collect

information from the public. ¡°We will not only listen to dog owners, but

also to people who do not have dogs,¡± Li adds.

 

Before, he notes, regulations were aimed mainly at control; but now the

trend is to focus on people¡¯s needs and to construct a harmonious society.

¡°I feel that law-makers now spend much more time listening to public

opinion than before,¡± he said in a telephone interview. ¡°But no law can

satisfy every one,¡± he adds.

 

Recent events in Shenzhen underline his point. At the end of September, the

Shenzhen government issued a black list of 28 dog breeds deemed ferocious.

But in a week-long period set for public comment on the policy, the

government received over 300 emails and 100 letters asking for German

Shepherds to be dropped from the list.

 

¡°We will respect the citizens¡¯ opinions,¡± a China Daily report quoted a

Shenzhen government official Deng Wenhuang as saying. ¡°It¡¯s possible to

take the German Shepherd off the list.¡±

 

As for the husky owner Zhao Jian, ¡°I won¡¯t stop writing until the

regulation is corrected and Haha¡¯s legal status is assured,¡± he says.

 

From pet rights to animal protection

 

Organisations like ARB and CAWA are now looking beyond the pets in cities.

They want to establish themselves as animal welfare organisations. ¡°Yes, we

do have a focus on pets, because this is something close to us. But we also

want to promote animal welfare in a broader sense, including welfare of farm

animals, street animals and lab animals,¡± said Qin of CAWA.

 

In the past two years, CAWA has been lobbying the government to set up a

charity refuge for street dogs and cats. Their idea is for CAWA to run the

refuge and for government to buy the service from it. ¡°It is not easy, but

we are trying very hard to make it real. It would only requires a small part

of the city¡¯s annual dog licence income of CNY 200 million,¡± she says.

 

CAWA and ARB, together with many other NGOs, are also calling for a

comprehensive animal protection law. ARB held 19 events in Beijing

universities last year to promote animal welfare and collected over 30,000

signatures supporting the call for animal welfare legislation.

 

CAWA continues to find ways to influence the officials in Beijing. Qin says

that as an NGO, their influence is limited. ¡°Only when we find the right

people who are willing to listen and have the power to make a change, can we

make some real progress. If not, our efforts are simply in vain,¡± she says.

 

Her view is shared by Jeff He (ºÎÓÂ), Communications Officer of the

International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), who also says that government

support is critical. IFAW has successfully dissuaded some city governments

from slaughtering unregistered dogs.

 

IFAW also teamed up with Hainan Small Animal Protection Association to work

with Hainan government and People¡¯s Congress to draft a provincial law on

animal protection. IFAW offered training and invited Hainan officials to the

United Kingdom to learn UK¡¯s experience in animal legislation. If

everything goes smoothly, Hainan will enact China¡¯s first animal protection

law by the end of this year.