Coronavirus: China threatens to kill dogs and cats if owners don't ‘deal with’ their pets within five days

Communities around China have been ordered to get rid of their pets amid the fears of animals catching the deadly coronavirus, which has already claimed 259 lives, reports Daily Mail.

While a village in Hebei has urged all the households to "deal with" their pets in 5 days, else the officials will take the matter into their hands by "handling" it their way. Another committee in Shaanxi wants people to "consider the overall situation" and get rid of their cats and dogs immediately. 

In Wuhan which witnessed the inception of the epidemic, a neighborhood has restricted its residents from letting their pet dogs, cats and, other livestock leave their homes. The local officials in a flyer also threatened to "catch kill and bury the animals" on the spot if found, reports DailyMail. 

The reports started making rounds after China’s experts for infectious disease warned that the animals would be quarantined as well if they get exposed to the patients infected with coronavirus, warning against the chances of animals catching the disease. 

However, WHO claims that no cases of the disease passing from humans to animals have been reported and neither have they found any evidence for the same. According to animal welfare organization Humane Society International, similar orders have been passed in Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Wuhan, Shanxi and Shanghai. 

Pet owners are gathering in large numbers to buy face masks for their pets. 

Meanwhile, the city of Anshan has ordered all the pet markets to temporarily stop trading and the police forces have been ordered to ban residents from walking their pets in public spaces. Local residents have also been banned from flying domestic pigeons and the wild ones will be culled if the condition worsens. 

Dr. Peter J. Li, China Policy Specialist of Humane Society International commenting on China’s orders regarding the banning and killing of dogs and cats, stated, “This is not the right approach for local authorities in China to deal with the national crisis that can be traced to China's out-of-control wildlife trade”.

“Companion animals did not contribute to the outbreak of SARS in 2002-2003. They do not have anything to do with the Wuhan epidemic,” he further added.