S. China city ends dog ban after public backlash
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Xinhua, August 6, 2011
A controversial dog ban has been lifted only nine days after going into effect in the city of Jiangmen in south China's Guangdong Province.
The local government issued the regulation in June; local authorities began enforcing it on July 26. The regulation banned dogs from the city's urban areas. Dogs found to be roaming urban areas would have been put down under the regulation.
Agitated by the ban, pet owners complained to local media and voiced their discontent online. Several of the dog owners even considered moving elsewhere with their "best friends."
However, some residents stood by the government, as dogs have become a nuisance in the city in recent years.
Over 12,000 people were bitten by dogs in the city's urban areas in 2010 alone; 42 people died after being attacked by dogs between 2008 and 2010, according to an official from the local health department.
Local police received over 4,000 dog-related complaints between January and July this year, the chief of the local police department said.
Opponents to the ban admitted that the city's dog problem needed to be addressed, adding that they believe the owners of the dogs in question should be the ones in the government's crosshairs.
Several local authorities, including the city's health, public security and city management bureaus, issued a joint amendment to the regulation on Wednesday night. The amendment states that dogs will be permitted to live with their owners in urban areas, but will still be banned from public areas.
The local government will draw up details specifying dog owners' obligations and responsibilities, said Deng Canhui, deputy director of the city's information office.
Huang Binhua, a local resident and dog owner, said he supports the new regulation, as it balances the concerns of dog owners and other residents.
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