China may FINALLY stop killing dogs for meat as pooches are formally re-categorised as ‘companions’ not livestock
CHINA has drawn up new guidelines to reclassify dogs as pets rather than livestock, as part of a response to the coronavirus outbreak. The announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture was described as a potential “game changer” in animal welfare. Even though dog meat remains a delicacy in many Chinese regions, the notice published yesterday […]
CHINA has drawn up new guidelines to reclassify dogs as pets rather than livestock, as part of a response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture was described as a potential “game changer” in animal welfare.
Even though dog meat remains a delicacy in many Chinese regions, the notice published yesterday made it clear that dogs would no longer be considered as livestock.
The notice by the agriculture ministry said: “As far as dogs are concerned, along with the progress of human civilisation and the public concern and love for animal protection, dogs have been ‘specialised’ to become companion animals, and internationally are not considered to be livestock, and they will not be regulated as livestock in China.”
COMPANION ANIMALS
The word livestock is used to refer to a category of animals that can be bred to provide food, milk, fur, fibre and medicine or to serve the needs of sports or the military.
The new coronavirus, which is believed to have originated from horseshoe bats, put a spotlight on China’s wild animal trade.
COVID-19 – which was first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan – could have been passed onto humans by intermediary species on sale at a wet market.
Those markets, where wild and often poached animals are packed together, have been described as a breeding ground for disease and an incubator for a multitude of viruses to evolve.
ANIMAL WELFARE
Following the outbreak of the virus, China banned the breeding, trading and consumption of wildlife – revoking all existing licenses.
It also promised to revise legislation to make the ban permanent.
The draft guidelines published yesterday – which have been opened to the public for consultation – listed 18 traditional livestock species, including cattle, pigs, poultry and camels.
The notice also added 13 “special” species that would also be exempt from wild animal trading restrictions, including reindeer, alpaca, pheasants, ostriches and foxes.
Dog consumption has become increasingly unpopular in China and the southern city of Shenzhen became the first to ban it last month.
However, the Humane Society International, an animal welfare group, estimated that around 10 million dogs a year are still killed in China for meat, including stolen pets.
The city of Yulin in the region of Guangxi holds an annual dog meat festival in June.
There, stray dogs or stolen pet dogs are trapped in tiny cages where they cannot breathe or even stand up properly.
The animals are then transported to a slaughterhouse in Yulin, south-west China.
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Charity Humane Society International has said that as many as 50 dogs are killed at the abattoir every day.
Wendy Higgins, a Humane Society International spokeswoman, said: “This draft proposal could signal a game-changer moment for animal protection in China.”
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