Chip implants to be required for dogs in Foshan

Every eligible dog in Foshan, South China's Guangdong province, is expected to get an electronic chip implanted under the skin, which can store information about the animal and its owner, according to information released at a news conference by the city's Legislative Affairs Bureau on Monday.

"The bureau is expected to solicit opinions for the dog management regulations to be released next year as we have started to draft the regulations," said Chen Yongbin, director of the bureau's department of regulations. "The regulations aim to solve the difficulties in assignment of responsibility with the help of cooperation from departments of urban management, public security, agriculture and health."

The regulations, including regionalized management, dog registration, dog quarantine and behavioral norms also will express stipulations to supervision, administration and legal liability.

"The regulations will not impose uniformity in all cases," Chen told Foshan Daily. "Flexible management of dogs will be promoted in different regions according to regional characteristics and housing information."

"A rewards and punishment system also will be included to encourage dog owners to keep their pets from disputes," he said. "Those who keep dogs civilly will receive rewards and owners of pets that disturb or injure people may find their names on a credit blacklist.