Chinese city plans massive dog kill
Officials in Jiangmen, China, are banning residents from keeping dogs in the city and are telling owners to begin taking their dogs to drop-off centers, where they will either be adopted by rural residents or euthanized.
The ban will be in effect in the most densely populated sections of Jiangmen, a city with a population of 3.8 million.
China Daily reports that dogs will be prohibited in urban public places and illegally raised dogs will be confiscated or hunted in Jiangmen city starting August 26, according to the city government of South China’s Guangdong province.
“We hope that all citizens will cooperate with us in creating a civilized Jiangmen and send their dogs to outskirts or rural areas,” said an official from the municipal committee of political science and law.
The notice has raised great concerns among citizens. “It’s unfair to kill all dogs without allowing people to get their dog a license. Their doing this shows no respect of life,” a citizen said. Others are calling for a more reasonable regulation on dog-raising.
The Daily Mail, in London, reports that up to 30,000 dogs could be put down in connection with the ban, which was prompted by an outbreak of rabies. Forty-two residents have reportedly died of rabies in the last three years.
Officials issued a declaration, called The Notice on Strengthening the Management of Dogs, which stated that residents must re-home their dogs between August 10 and 25. After the 25th, authorities will start confiscating dogs found in the area included in the ban.
Posted by jwoestendiek August 4th, 2011 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animal cruelty, animal welfare, animals, ban, china, city, culling, dog, dogs, euthanized, fear, government, guangdong province, jiangmen, killing, outbreak, pets, rabies, urban
Comments
Comment from Satrio Wahyu
Time August 4, 2011 at 8:59 am
what the hell is going on???
do the dogs have some mistakes to those people?
oh my god! I know that dogs sometimes can be wild or can bring some illnesses. but, is it fair for them???
Comment from Starla
Time August 4, 2011 at 5:45 pm
Aren’t dogs considered “Food” in many parts of China? I don’t think animals in general are considered any higher than the food chain in that country.
Comment from Rebecca
Time August 4, 2011 at 10:59 pm
Wouldn’t it be so much smarter if they just encouraged dog owners to get vaccinations for their pets? Also, only certain areas eat dogs anymore, and I think people in China are starting to stand up for their dogs.
Comment from Anne’n'Spencer
Time August 4, 2011 at 7:44 am
Hmmm. When my mother was still living, I had skilled nursing assistants to help me with her care. The caregivers came from an excellent agency and were caring and highly competent at the difficult work.
Despite the fact that I had informed the agency that we had a small dog, one weekend the woman who arrived was obviously terrified of Spencer. It was clear she could not work in the same room where he was. I tend to back off when people are like that–not to force the dog on them. I put him upstairs.
She was finally able to confide that she hailed from Jamaica, and that she had loved dogs as a child. Her younger sister had been attacked quite savagely by a rabid, stray dog. The sister had subsequently died of the rabies that was transmitted. It’s not a very edifying way to go, and it must have been terrifying and tragic to witness.
This wholesale rounding up of peoples’ pets is deplorable. If they can do that, they ought to be able to round them up and ensure that each dog is vaccinated for rabies. It’s a public health issue where the government can intervene to ensure that dogs and human beings can be kept healthy. Until governments have sense enough to do that, rabid dogs will continue to be a serious problem.