Chinese dog owners told to get rid of pets or else

[Catherine]

There is such a struggle for animal protection in China. Officials in one district have told pet owners to get rid of their dogs or they will come and kill the dogs. It seems there is nothing they can do legally to stop this.
It is very heavy handed and rather arbitrary, but the officials can do this.
No wonder it is so hard to make progress for animal rights in China.

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sr=1&ct2=...t=2&at=dt0

I don't know what the pet owners are going to do. The people working in the animal rights movement definitely have their work cut out for them.

[LPC]

A sad story. This is an example of Communism at its worst. A local committee can order anything it wishes, at any time, and its will must be obeyed.

This mass extermination of dogs is not, sadly, anything new. For many decades after the Chinese revolution, having a dog was banned. To quote the article you cited, Catherine:

"The keeping of dogs as pets was effectively outlawed during the first decades of the People’s Republic, denounced by communist leaders as a bourgeois affectation and waste of scarce resources".

I also remember one year in the past when the Chinese Communist Party decided that birds were eating crops, so they should be shot. Countless birds were shot all over China in a massive campaign that year (I can't remember which year it was). The result? Insects ate the crops, and the amount harvested was less than ever! So that idea was abandoned.

I wonder whether killing all the dogs may result in an increase of rats and mice this time around.....

I hope that this extermination of all dogs in one area is only a temporary blip on China's path to a broader understanding of animals and the balance of nature. The growing group of animal welfare people in China needs to work hard to stop this idea from spreading, and we need to help them by publicising this "genocide" of dogs in this region.

[Tobi]

I know. It's chilling and smacks of the worst form of dictatorship, not a Land for the People. Apparently, 1000 people in that area voted for the killing, saying that dogs are a nuisance (mainly because of dog droppings I guess) The answer to that is not to kill them all! But to have proper local legislation and fines, and a "pick up" rule in place!

You are right, LPC, we need to start making some noise. I am going to start tonight.

[Catherine]

This district will be a real test case to see if anything can be done to stop such heavy handed behavior. They may find it backfires on them. People might be willing to fight for their dogs.

The animal rights movement may become stronger in China because of this. Also the rest of the world is going to react to this. China may find it is the focus of a strong campaign for animal rights.
A dog cull is a shocking thing. You are right, it might have serious consequences. I am sure the dogs keep the rats and mice down.

I hadn't heard about the bird cull, but the results were predictable. Culls are always a disaster. They create an imbalance and the ecosystem goes off in an unexpected direction. Of course insects would eat all the crops.

I hope something can be done to stop this. If not, I hope it is a catalyst for change on many levels.

[LPC]

I don't want to distract attention from the vital importance of the original topic on this thread, but here is an article about killing all the sparrows in Communist China:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_Campaign

Let's hope that some people there speak up against this latest appalling plan about pet dogs.....

[Tobi]

Re: the killing of (presumably non-Communist) Sparrows .....what absolute idiocy!
I think four year olds would run the state better!

Let's just hope that the rulers of Communist China have sufficient intelligence (?) to note the ecological problems they incur as a result of their actions. Although, if that happens at all, it will probably happen in hindsight.

Will such learning help the dog companions though....? I don't know.

We need a jolly good Tweet-storm about this. And petitions? I will search for some. Will those idiots listen? Well....at least we will have tried.

__________________________________________

Here are a couple of petitions:

http://linkis.com/change.org/Petition_Dayan_New_D.html

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/en-gb/934...or-you%22/

[Catherine]

Thank-you for the link about the sparrow campaign. It shows what happens when political leaders make decisions that have ecological consequences.

Culls throw things out of balance. Even a domestic dog cull is going to have some ecological consequences. They need to do a serious study of the impact of the dogs on the existing ecosystem before they consider removing them.

Didn't they kill domestic cats during the middle ages which allowed rats to multiply and therefore rat fleas which of course spread the plague.

I doubt the leaders will learn anything. We need to hope the people can protest. They have put up with so much and they have so little freedom. The love of their dogs may be something they do not give up willingly.

[Tobi]

Let us hope so, and think positively. But the reality is that people who live in that town and district may be left with the option of moving away, and they may not be able to do that at a moment's notice, if they can even do that at all.
This is more like fascism than communism. The rules are laid down by officials, as a result of 1000 people voting 'for'. So what are those who disagree to do? The only option they may have is to flee.

I know I certainly would have done, with Misty. I would not have stuck around no matter how much money I lost, or how I would be forced to live. But then I don't have family, or children at school, or property investment, a mortgage, or a job in the nearby town....etc.

[Catherine]

Quote:This is more like fascism than communism

I think you will find there really isn't a difference. Any form of government that is not regulated by a constitution/ laws/ charters of rights and freedoms or something like that is a government of bullies. They do what they please and they do not care what others want or need.

You would have taken to the hills and lived off the grid. I know you would have never let your dog be hurt.

I don't know what people in China can do. They don't have a lot of children. China has had a one child policy for years. Their dogs are really their children in some ways. If dog owners band together they may be able to do something. If animal rights activists can get there they may be able to do something.

All we can do is wait and see and of course be supportive of any petitions that take place.

[LPC]

I signed both the petitions you listed, Tobi. But I see date for the start of execution of all dogs is 10 September....

Quote from the second petition:
"The fact that the government of such a technologically advanced country would allow such a cruel and heartless law to be passed shows just what type of monsters they are becoming" - with "they" clearly meaning the Communist officials in the area. "They" clearly does not include the poor caretakers of dogs in that region, or the many dog lovers all over China. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" - be they communists or fascists, it matters little, although I doubt whether the communist officials would appreciate being called fascists, Tobi, LOL! Any extremism, which gives excessive power over individual freedom, is bad news for humans and all other animals.

This "extermination by signing a decree" reminds me of the terrible days of Stalin, although of course it is a different country.