Officials in China have launched a crackdown on stray, unregistered, and “oversized” dogs.
But the move has been widely criticised after reports that dogs without owners are being rounded up and sometimes euthanised.
It comes after a vicious attack on a two-year-old girl by a Rottweiler last week that shocked the country.
The toddler suffered a ruptured kidney, fractured ribs and lacerations across her body. She is reportedly stable.
The crackdown prompted by the mauling has however, been questioned on social media and by pet owners after several shocking stories came to light.
In one case, security guards and a landlord entered an office without the permission of the tenant and killed both of their dogs.
In another case – which has drawn considerable attention online – a small, stray dog on a university campus in Chongqing was filmed being grabbed in a net by a dog catcher, prior to being killed. The “smiling” appearance of the dog has prompted a social media hashtag using the name it was given #XiaoHuang. University officials said the dog had chased a student.
Some users of Chinese microblogging site Weibo posted pictures claiming security personnel in their residential compounds had started killing strays and dumping their bodies in the trash. Their posts sparked an online outcry, with many calling for more humane measures, including adoption and neutering.
Chinese celebrities have also joined the social media discussion, saying the crackdown across the country was not warranted by the initial attack, terrible though it was.
Chinese actress Cya Liu Ya-se posted on Weibo on Friday, stating that “not all stray dogs are bad dogs” and called for “an end to the killing of animals.”
Celebrity Yang Di also posted a video on short video platform Douyin the same day, saying that people don’t have to all love dogs, but “please do not harm them.” Both accounts were banned shortly after the posts.
However, the Rottweiler that attacked the child in Chongzhou, Sichuan Province, was not a stray. It was unleashed and approached the mother who was walking her child to preschool inside their housing compound.
Statements issued from officials in Shandong, Jiangxi and Hubei Provinces have said that captured stray dogs would be put down if an owner cannot be found for them.
Chen Minjie, a staffer from the Cat and Dog Welfare Program with the Animals Asia Foundation, told the Global Times on Monday that the heated debate surrounding uncivilized incidents reflects the expanded pet ownership in the country and the varying quality of pet owners. Attention should be focused on addressing the behavior of uncivilized dog owners, rather than a widespread antagonism between dog owners and non-dog owners.
Internet users also called on the public to go to the State Council website and leave a message asking the government to stop abusing and killing stray animals, to reasonably disclose the way stray cats and dogs are handled, and to call on the state to legislate for the protection of animals.
Editor’s Note: Whilst it is agreed that attacks by dogs should be dealt with severely, in this case the dog(s) involved were not strays. They were pets that were not on leads. No stray dogs were anywhere in the vicinity of the awful attack. Why persecute strays for something they had nothing to do with?
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP RESCUE ANIMALS
You can support our work by donating as little as £5 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need.
CLICK HERE TO DONATE https://donorbox.org/miracles-mission
Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping rescue animals in need.
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
‘Animals that use wheels and prosthetics can live as good a quality of life as fully able-bodied animals and this is what we want to show people’ ~ Victoria Bryceson, founder of Miracle’s Mission.
We do not receive financial support from the government or other institutions. We rely solely on donations from generous animal lovers.
Animal rescues cost a lot of money to run. While we get donations and funding through events like charity runs etc, the costs are EXTREMELY high. We need to pay for food, heating and other bills, as well as any staff costs and expenses like petrol for home visits.
The average cost to feed a dog for one month typically costs somewhere from £16 to £50, depending on the breed. Microchipping costs about £10 to £15. The average cost of essential vaccinations is £64. A routine vet appointment costs between £40-£60, surgery can cost anywhere over £1000. Physiotherapy, Hydrotherapy – the average cost is £50 for a 30-minute session. Prosthetics and dog wheels etc can cost up to £500.
Please help Miracle’s Mission continue to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome MANY MORE sick, injured and disabled animals by kindly donating ANY amount, large or small, today. Thank you.
PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE 