Animal abuse or harm such as the controversial dog culling in Hanzhong, Shaanxi province would be illegal under a new draft law.

If passed through the country's legislative organs, it would be the first time that the concept of "animal welfare" is added to law.

Experts have completed drafting the country's first animal protection law and are now in the process of revising it before its submission to government and congress authorities, said Chang Jiwen, a law professor with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who led the drafting team.

He did not disclose a timetable for legislation, but said: "Once it gets passed, the abuses of animal, such as the Hanzhong dog killing, are expected to stop."

Chang said current law and regulations fail to offer humane and effective protection to animals.

The Law on Protection of Wild Animals was the only existing animal law, but it prohibited the trafficking and abuse of wild species. Chang said it has already fallen short of protecting animals at large.

Last December, China's first Animal Protection Law Research Center was established at the Northwest University of Politics and Law in Shannxi, the same province where the Hanzhong dog cull is taking place. The drafting of the law was launched at the same time.

(China Daily June 16, 2009)