CHINA / National
Dog policy 'not infringing owners' rights'
By Xie Chuanjiao (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-15 06:43
A senior Chinese police officer said Tuesday that China respects its
people's rights to keep dogs despite regulations aimed at limiting
numbers of large and aggressive dogs in cities.
A dog is captured and caged during a drive to remove stray dogs from the
Chinese capital's street in Beijing. All dogs found running wild in
Beijing's streets without city-issued licenses will be caught and handed
to public security offices for inoculation. [cnsphoto/file]
Bao Suixian, deputy director of the Public Security Management Bureau
under the Ministry of Public Security, also called for a balance between
the interests of dog-owners and others.
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"People have the right to have dogs, but people who don't have dogs also
have rights," he told a press conference on Tuesday.
"People are worried about two things: Dogs attacking and injuring them,"
he said.
Bao also denied that some dog shelters killed dogs that have been
collected from the streets or previous owners.
"We have set up special homes to house stray dogs and unlawfully large
and aggressive dogs, fearing they might threaten public security," Bao
said. "But we have never heard of them being slaughtered."
"Dogs are man's best friend. We still treat them like friends after
taking them in."
The official said the government does not condone the slaughter of dogs,
unless they have rabies.
On Monday Beijing Public Security Bureau refuted some dog-owners' online
statements that criticized the strict implementation of a new "one-dog"
policy, calling the comments misleading.
In articles published on the Internet, dog owners claimed security
officers forced them to give up their dogs. They said it was offensive to
have their dogs abruptly seized, and claimed that the dogs were being
taken away to be slaughtered.
But the bureau says this is untrue. They explained that the security
officers were simply implementing the new regulation, by urging citizens
to give up second dogs or aggressive dogs.
The bureau added that the strict implementation of the dog-control
measures mainly aims to solve nine prominent problems, including the
keeping of large or vicious dogs, unlicensed dogs, one household owning
more than one dog, and owners bringing their dogs to public places.
They revealed that the bureau's special office managing the registration
of dogs has taken in a total of 500 stray and family dogs that were
temporarily detained after November 13. Any dog owners who no longer want
to keep their pets may drop them off at their local police station.
Meanwhile, citizens eligible to own a dog are invited to adopt previously
owned dogs, and can call the station for details.
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