China's crackdown on stray dogs sparks public outcry

NEW DELHI: A video of a Rottweiler attacking a 2-year-old girl has prompted the Chinese authorities to launch a crackdown on stray dogs, CNN reported.

CNN said people were unhappy about the way the stray canines in their neighborhood were rounded up though they initially appreciated the swift response.

The new directive to clamp down on large, unleashed dogs is cited as the country’s long-standing struggle with animal rights and welfare.

“Just because a large dog bit a child, all of them are being hunted down by ruthless security guards and police,” one user wrote on Chinese social media Weibo under the hashtag “Will the biting of the girl bring stigma to a large dog?” viewed by almost 1 million users.

“Such a one-size-fits-all approach makes me really sad,” she said.

CNN said this was not the first time Chinese authorities have been accused of being rude with animals.

During COVID, some pet owners complained that their dogs were beaten to death when they were taken away for quarantine.

Chinese actress and singer Cya Liu, who won Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards last year, called for an end to the killing.

“Not all stray dogs are bad just as not all men are good,” she wrote on Weibo, with the hashtag “voicing out for stray dogs.”

The Bo Ai Animal Protection Centre of Guangyuan in Sichuan recently conveyed on the Meipian platform, which is often likened to a Chinese equivalent of Tumblr, that China should harness its ongoing development efforts to foster a stronger commitment to social responsibility and a greater reverence for animals among its citizens.

“Beating and catching dogs at every turn. Let the world see what our great motherland is like,” it said.