ACTAsia News Alert
On 11th November at 11am thousands of dog owners and residents of Beijing gathered in front of Beijing Zoo to sign a petition calling for the protection of dogs in Beijing. This is the first ever public gathering for the protection of humankind's best friend in China, and was brought about by the recent action by the Beijing authorities of confiscating and killing pet dogs who are over 35cm in height or listed as one of 41 dangerous breeds. Homes with unlicensed dogs or more than one dog were also given the same treatment.
The Beijing authorities have made a direct connection between the size of a dog and the danger it poses to humans. This decision has created panic among dog owners, and they fear the killing of an
innocent family member without any real justification.
According to the officials, this drastic crackdown is due to the increase of rabies in 2006. However, the Chinese Small Animal Protection Society points out that the dogs currently being targeted
by the Beijing authorities have in fact the lowest opportunity to spread rabies, because the owners regularly have their dogs vaccinated against the disease.
Professor Zu, an epidemiologist, states: "The majority of the 318 rabies deaths in September 2006 were not in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, or Kongzhou, but in rural provinces of China. Most
villagers in these areas do not know that dogs should be vaccinated, and are unaware that they should be given treatment if bitten or scratched by a dog. This is why promoting mass vaccinations,
improving the quality of rabies vaccines, public education and keeping rural animals out of urban areas are much more effective methods of preventing rabies than a mass killing of pet dogs."
Once again ACTAsia urges the Beijing authorities to amend their current list of dangerous breeds, cancel height restrictions for licences and follow WHO recommendations on implementing mass
vaccination of dogs to effectively control rabies.

For more information please click www.actasia.org