Urban management and law enforcement workers in Guizhou, Sichuan and Anhui provinces also handed out free leashes this week to local residents, as well as brochures on registering and vaccinating their pets.
The brutal attack and its aftermath have divided the Chinese internet. In a poll conducted by Hubei-based Jiupai News, 33 per cent said dog-culling should continue across the country, while 47 per cent said in attacks like this the fault lay with the owner, not the dog.
Du Yufeng, founder of the Guangyuan Boai Animal Protection Centre in Sichuan, said dog culling is not the right action to take and could send a wrong message to young children.
“A one-size-fits-all measure can only create more conflict,” she said.
A Shanghai resident said some neighbours had been helping stray dogs in their residential compound get adopted, for fear they might be seized by authorities.
“There are already some complaints about stray dogs barking too loudly at night, and I saw compound security chase after a dog last night,” she said.
China has no animal cruelty law that can offer protection for pets. While each city has regulations regarding registering and raising pets, these are loosely enforced, causing conflict between dog owners and other residents.
Over the years, authorities have put in place many strict policies regarding dog ownership to keep the public peace.
In 2019, Tongzhou district in Beijing announced residents were not allowed to keep dogs over 35 centimetres (about 14 inches) tall, which would include popular breeds such as the Golden Retriever. Owners had to remove the dogs elsewhere within three days, or the animals would be seized, residents were warned.
This article was first published on SCMP.
Source: CNA
