|
One pooch policy
GUANGZHOU, China (AP) -- Mrs. Chen can't imagine abandoning one of her two best friends: her scruffy terrier mutt and a white fluffy Pekingese mix with buggy eyes.But that's what the government in this southern Chinese city wants the middle-aged housewife to do when a one-dog policy takes effect in Guangzhou. Beginning July 1, each household can raise only one pooch. The regulation won't be grandfathered in, so families with two or more dogs will apparently have to decide which one gets to stay. "It's a cruel regulation. These dogs are like family. How can you keep one and get rid of the others?" said Chen, who declined to give her full name because she feared the police would track her down and seize the dogs. Such dog controls have touched off resentment among urban - mostly new middle class - Chinese in other cities. The Guangzhou measure comes as many are worrying about the economy, and there's potential for the regulation to trigger a public backlash. The regulation appears to be part of an effort to control stray dogs in Guangzhou, once known as Canton. An hour north of Hong Kong by train, it is one of the richest cities in China and has a rapidly growing middle class that can afford to own dogs. Many of the first-time pet owners don't bother to spay or neuter their animals and are new to the burdens of keeping an animal. The canines often end up on the street when their owners grow tired of raising a cute puppy that grew up into a big mutt and constantly demands care. Guangzhou is also preparing to host the Asian Games next year, and crews have been scrubbing down and sprucing up the city of 12 million people. Reducing the dog population will likely mean cleaner sidewalks. During the 2006 Beijing roundup, there were no reports of authorities entering homes to seize dogs. But witnesses accused the police of going through neighborhoods and collecting unregistered dogs from the streets, then beating them to death. In one county in the southwestern province of Yunnan, where three people had died of rabies, authorities killed 50,000 dogs, often clubbing them to death in front of their owners. Dog owners in Guangzhou aren't sure if the one-dog policy will be strictly enforced. Often Chinese authorities announce a tough new law, launch a crackdown, then ignore the measure. Chen, the owner of the Pekingese and terrier mixes, said her plan was to register one of her dogs with her parents. She said the Chinese are masters at finding loopholes and other ways to skirt around laws. "In China, we have a saying," she said. "When the people at the top make a policy, the people at the bottom find a way to get around it." Posted by: Classer 2009-06-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=272391 |