Owners of German Shepherd dogs in Shenzhen can heave a sigh of
relief after the Shenzhen animal quarantine authority struck the
dog off a list of violent canines that are forbidden in the
city.
The city's agriculture and forestry authorities announced Sept.
18 an initial list of 28 violent dog breeds that were forbidden in
residential, business and industrial areas in Shenzhen. The list
included the German Shepherd, which is also known as Alsatian.
Many dog owners had called and sent e-mails to the animal
quarantine station in defense of the strongly built, long-bodied
German Shepherd, insisting that it is "big but docile."
"We organized a discussion among vets and animal experts, and we
finally decided to drop the German Shepherd from the forbidden
list," said Luo Qiuhui, director of the quarantine station,
Tuesday.
Lan Chou, an editor of a forum for dog owners, pledged to Luo on
behalf of owners of German Shepherds that all such dogs would be
muzzled and chained in public places to ensure the dogs did not
hurt others.
Local mongrels remain on the forbidden list because they are
volatile and likely to attack people, although quite a number of
Shenzhen residents also advocated their cause.
As the 27 forbidden breeds cannot be raised in busy downtown
areas, owners of the Tibetan mastiff, Newfoundland and other dogs
have to take their pets to the suburbs.
A set of new regulations taking effect July 1 in the city
eliminated the costly 5,000-yuan (US$625) pet ownership fee and cut
the annual registration fee from 2,000 yuan to a more manageable
300 yuan.
Officials lowered the fees hoping that all dog owners would get
their pets registered. They also announced at that time a list of
28 dog breeds forbidden in busy urban areas.
Dogs in the city can receive free rabies shots in April and
September, regardless of whether they are registered or not.
(Shenzhen Daily November 23, 2006)