China bans dog walking to protect people from canine bites in Yunnan, pet will be executed on third violation
China has banned dog walking to “protect residents” from unleashed dogs. The circular from the government has also stated that if anyone was found violating the rule thrice, their dog will be executed by officials. The rule will come into effect from November 20 in the Yunnan province. People violating it for the first time will get a warning, second time offenders will have to pay between $7.63 (50 yuan) and $30.53 (200 yuan), The Sun reported.
Reports also stated that the rule was made to protect citizens as more people have been bitten by dogs in recent times. But the mandate was condemned heavily on social media, causing authorities to re-think the new rule. One social media user said, “These are uncivilized policies to promote ‘civilized’ dog raising.” The second one wrote, “They should focus on banning the dog meat trade." Commenting on the “extreme” rule, the third person noted, “How can any government threaten such a thing? You don't cull members of a family for walking down the street.” While the fourth one added: “China is now targeting animals and the little rights we give them."
According to BBC, the residents of Yunnan province were sent the notice on November 13 which mentioned that dogs must be kept inside the house at all times. Besides, it added the rule has been introduced to promote “civilized” habits of dog-raising. But experts are not in favor of the government order as they believe keeping dogs inside doors all the time can be “detrimental to the animal’s welfare”. Dr Jaipal Singh Gill, executive director of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Singapore, said, “instead of banning the walking of dogs, educating pet owners on responsible pet ownership and putting in place regulations can be considered instead.”
However, this is not the first time such a rule has been introduced in China. Two years ago, in the city of Hangzhou, walking of dogs during the daytime was banned and people were not allowed to pet larger breeds. Cities like Shanghai, Qingdao, and Chengdu also did not allow its citizens to adopt more than one dog, while residents in Huangshi are barred from raising large breeds measuring over 45cm.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that a few pets including cats and dogs have been diagnosed with the Covid-19 after coming close to infected people. But the rate of animals getting infected is very low compared to humans.
This comes months after another report stated that a Chinese pet market sold extremely sick or even dying dogs, cats, and guinea pigs kept in filthy cages amid the coronavirus. The discovery was reportedly made by campaigners who did an undercover investigation and shot the footage of the unnamed market in eastern China in May when coronavirus cases were on the rise in most of the world. Their reported investigation found numerous stalls in the mucky market selling live pigeons, chickens, and quails as food while other animals, like rabbits, were kept in feces-encrusted cages, awaiting their buyers.