(CN) Animal rights plan rubs some the wrong way

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http://china.globaltimes.cn/society/2010-03/514242.html

 

 

 

Global Times. 19 March 2010.

 

 

 

Animal rights plan rubs some the wrong way.

 

 

 

By Ji Beibei

 

 

 

A draft proposal to amend the nation's animal protection law

 

includes controversial criminal penalties and fines for

 

offenders, but some critics are dis-missing the plan as going

 

too far.

 

The latest revision to the " law against animal abuse " surfaced

 

shortly after 13 Siberian tigers died from starvation at a zoo

 

in Liaoning Province.

 

The draft also covers pets and prohibits the use of some wild

 

animals for sports and medicine.

 

Beijing cat lover Sheng Nannan told the Global Times that the

 

legislation would at least educate people about animal welfare

 

even if it doesn't make much of a difference.

 

" Many cases of animal abuse have been reported but no one has

 

been made to face the music for abusing animals, " Sheng said.

 

Nearly 100 experts from various fields in China and abroad

 

will work next Saturday on the draft that was posted on the

 

Internet to solicit feedback before it is given to a committee

 

in the National People's Congress in April, Chang Jiwen of the

 

Law Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who

 

helped with the draft, told the Global Times Thursday.

 

The first draft of the animal protection law was posted online

 

in September.

 

The experts updated the proposal based on input from the

 

public.

 

" Animal protection is a larger task while stopping animal

 

abuse is a more urgent one, " Chang said.

 

The new draft would make it possible to fine or sue people

 

responsible for starving zoo animals, abandoning pets or

 

mistreating them.

 

The existing law and regulations do not prioritize the

 

protection of animals.

 

An item calling for a ban on eating dogs or cats meat was

 

replaced with language that would allow local authorities to

 

set their own standards, Chang said.

 

" I doubt there are enough policemen to handle animal-related

 

cases and I also question whether they will be efficient, "

 

said Li Wei, Zhejiang resident.

 

" Having a law to fill the legislation blanket is more

 

important, " Wang Fan of International Fund for Animal Welfare

 

(IFAW) told the Global Times Thursday.

 

Others feel such a proposal puts animals before people.

 

" I would rather be a panda in the afterlife so I can live in

 

rooms with air conditioners like them, " an Internet user from

 

Guangdong Province said.

 

Hua Ning, also from IFAW and who assisted with the draft, said

 

people " fail to realize protecting animals is protecting human

 

beings. "

 

" Many cases of abusing animals, as we studied, resulted in

 

problems involving human health, food security and national

 

economic development, " she said.

 

The proposal includes some basic protections and suggestions

 

on how to educate the public to appreciate animals, as more

 

and more people become pet owners.

 

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