Chinese city drafts new law to punish those who abuse and abandon pet dogs amid coronavirus crisis
A Chinese city of Guangzhou has proposed a new law that will punish citizens who abuse or abandon their pet dogs amidst reports they were being killed in panic to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The proposal, which has been drawn up in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, has recommended a fine of 5,000 yuan ($714) to any organization that is found guilty of abusing or abandoning dogs, according to the Daily Mail.
The law, if enacted, will also punish an individual found guilty of the same with a fine of 2,000 yuan ($286). The pet in question will then be confiscated or sent to a shelter by the authorities, and the owner's pet-keeping license will be revoked as well.
The document also sets out a series of updated regulations on the city's pet owners that include a maximum of 2,000 yuan ($284) fine for those who keep dogs without a license and up to 200 yuan ($29) for those who walk their dogs without a leash. It is also looking to enforce a one-dog-per-family policy. The proposal has been uploaded by the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Guangzhou, a major decision-making body, on its website for citizens to comb through.
Meanwhile, local lawmakers are waiting for feedback from the public, who can give their opinions on the drafted law before April 20, before making any changes to the legislation. If passed, it would mark an important milestone in the country, which currently has laws to safeguard land-based and aquatic wildlife, but not to protect animal welfare or prevent cruelty.
The news will no doubt be welcomed by animal rights activists, especially in light of reports that panicked pet owners were throwing their dogs out of tower blocks during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
The incidents were a consequence of Dr Lanjuan speaking on Chinese state TV that "if pets come into contact with suspected patients, they should be quarantined," following which many media outlets claimed the animals could be a carrier for the virus.
Despite insistence from many state officials, as well as the World Health Organization, the fake news continued to make the rounds on Chinese social media.
As the number of cases of Covid-19 in the country continued to skyrocket, another shocking video making the rounds showed community officers beating two stray dogs to death in broad daylight. The video, which was shot in a residential complex in the city of Nanchong in the Sichuan Province of China, captured one of the workers repeatedly hitting one of the dogs with a large wooden club.
Nanchong Stray Animal Rescue said that stray dog, as well as another one, were killed at around 9 am near Wenfend Road last week. In another clip taken in the same place, workers can be seen walking away from the dogs' bodies after killing them.
A volunteer for the group said both the dogs had been healthy and obedient and that the residents had fed both of them just an hour before the community officers culled them.