China Declares War On Dogs

The news out of China just keeps getting worse! Check out this article from The Scotsman.

One dog and no more, Beijing families told
BEN ROBERTSON
IN BEIJING

FIRST, they were told they could have only one child. Now families in Beijing are being told they can have no more than one dog.

An outright ban on large and dangerous dogs has also come into force, and anyone breaking the regulations will be fined up to 5,000 yuan (400) and have their pets taken into custody.

The controversial measure is in response to an outbreak of rabies that killed 318 people in China in September, according to state media. But it is deeply unpopular with dog owners, some of whom have threatened to use force to prevent their pets being seized by police.

Once seen as a bourgeois habit, dog ownership has become increasingly popular in China in recent years, especially among the elderly. There are now more than a million pet dogs in the capital alone.

Banners promoting the new restrictions, asking people to “create a harmonious society and be a civilised dog raiser”, have gone up in housing areas, and police are rounding up dogs that don’t meet the regulatory profile in what local media say will be a two-month crackdown. While some dog owners have sent their pets out of town, others are protesting.

Zhang Luping, the owner of a dog shelter, claims that owners have been calling her repeatedly with complaints and tales of dogs being beaten to death by the authorities. She hopes to gather a million names on a petition calling on the city government to change its stance.

Beijing pet owners already have to register their dogs and pay an annual fee of about 60. City-centre residents are prohibited from owning dogs over 35cm tall, prompting many to walk theirs at night when inspectors are hopefully in bed.