An official from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau's
security division yesterday refuted some citizens' opinions spread
on the Internet, which call the implementation of dog-control
measures "a dog-slaughtering campaign," dismissing the rumors as a
"gross misrepresentation of the truth."
According to the official, some citizens regard the
implementation of dog-control measures as "a drive to beat dogs,"
house-to-house publicity and motivation as "the confiscation of
dogs," and the confiscation of unlicensed dogs as "maltreating or
slaughtering dogs."
By November 13, the dog-collection and quarantine agency under
the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau had hauled in a total
of 500 dogs. The dogs mainly include those abandoned by owners,
unlicensed pets and stray ones. Most of the dogs were unlicensed
and their owners gave them up of their own accord.
Once sent here, each dog will be registered, given an ID number
and quarantined, the official said. The healthy ones will be sent
to an adoption department to await new owners.
The appointment times for adoption are 9-11:30 AM and 2-4:30 PM
on Tuesday and Friday. The telephone number for the center is 6973
8604.
Any dog owners wishing to get rid of their pets may drop them
off at their local police stations. Meanwhile, citizens willing to
own a dog are invited to adopt previously-owned dogs and call for
details. Once an appointment is made, citizens may go to the
dog-collection agency and show the dog-raising certification permit
issued by local residents' committees and their valid ID card.
Necessary qualifications for possessing a dog are a valid ID
card, full civil capacities and permanent residence located
outside dog-raising prohibition areas.
The bureau said that the strict implementation of dog-control
measures mainly aims to solve nine prominent problems, including
the raising of large or vicious dogs, unlicensed dogs, multiple
dogs by single households, and owners bringing their dogs to public
places.
While urging dog owners to behave according to the rules, the
bureau will enforce the laws to protect dog-raising and citizens'
legal rights and interests. To aid this goal, a professional law
enforcement team and grass-roots management organizations will be
part of a wider permanent mechanism.
(China.org.cn by Zhang Tingting and Li Jingrong, November 14,
2006)