The Guangdong government has lowered the registration and annual management fees for pet dogs.

Formerly, dog owners had to pay 10,000 yuan (US$1,315) to register a pet and an annual management fee of 6,000 yuan.

The fees were the highest in the country.

Under the new regulations, the registration and annual management fees have been reduced to 1,000 yuan and 600 yuan, respectively.

The old fees had little effect in controlling the number of pet dogs. In fact many people continued to keep dogs secretly, ignoring the fees.

According to the government, the city has about 100,000 dogs, but only 842 were registered by the end of last year.

Many do not have their dogs inoculated against diseases because they are afraid of being fined for not registering them.

Earlier this year, deputies to the city's people's congress and members of its political consultative conference raised concerns about the dog problem.

They suggested the fees be reduced so that more would register their pets.

Zhang Guangning, the mayor of Guangzhou, said on Monday the new fees had been approved by the government.

Blind people who need guide dogs are exempt from the fees. Widows, widowers or elderly people with little financial support, can request a reduction or exemption. People who have infertile dogs will be allowed to pay half the fees.

"We are changing the old policy of controlling pet dogs in the hope the new one will be more effective," Zhang said.

(China Daily September 26, 2007)