Dog keepers in Beijing will face harsh punishment in the future
if they raise their pets in violation of relevant stipulations,
according to local public security authorities on Sunday.
They will see their pet dogs confiscated or be fined for 5,000
yuan (US$625) at most if they keep a dog without a permit, fail
annual health check-up on their pets, keep big dogs in downtown
area, have more than one dog at one family and bring their pets to
wrong places or at wrong times, said Tang Yunli, deputy head of the
public security brigade of the Beijing Municipal Public Security
Bureau.
Tang said they have begun a two-week-long inspection on
dog-raising in the city starting Saturday.
The annual registration of pet dogs in the city between May 1
and June 30 show that Beijing has a record 534,520 pet dogs, 75,747
dogs more than that for the corresponding period of last year, Tang
said.
They dealt with 4,891 cases involving illegally keeping dogs
during the period, Tang said.
Police officers also spread information about rabies for the
purpose of improving the public's awareness of the fatal
disease.
Beijing has seen a gradual increase in rabies cases in recent
years due to the increase of pet cats and dogs raised by citizens,
according to experts.
(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2006)