Anger at city's plan to 'clear' pet dogs
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Shanghai Daily, August 4, 2011
Residents in a southern China city and animal lovers across the country are up in arms over a government decision that could lead to the killing of many of the city's pet dogs.
Jiangmen City in Guangdong Province is planning a campaign to "clear illegally raised dogs" in its downtown area. Government employees would team up with police to search for "illegal dogs."
Under the new policy, dog owners have until August 26 to license their pets but how they can do so in time is unclear as no procedure has been suggested.
Local officials say the new law is aimed at improving public safety and sanitation in the city to help it win the title of "civilized city," an honor granted by national authorities.
The "no-dog campaign" was the third most-followed story on news portal sina.com yesterday with nearly 14,300 people leaving comments. Some Jiangmen residents have begun calling for support from the media and the public to put pressure on the city government to abandon its plans.
"Please help us and save the dogs. How could a city kill all its dogs to compete for the title of civilized city? That's anything but being civilized," a group of Jiangmen residents wrote.
"The government statement indicates dogs found walking in public will be killed at the scene, which is pure cruelty," said Hui Hui, leader of a Shanghai-based animal protection group.
But not everyone is against the new regulations.
On sina.com, a large group of people expressed support for the campaign.
Some said it is necessary since most Chinese don't know how to raise dogs in a civilized manner and others even called on cities such as Beijing to follow suit.
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