OLYMPICS/ Facelift
Beijing to strengthen dog-raising management
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-09-07 18:42
Urban neighborhood committees and villagers' committees in rural areas of Beijing have been told to set up organizations which educate dog owners on how to raise their pets.
By the end of this year, 95 percent of the urban neighborhood communities and 85 percent of the rural villagers' committees should have established such an organization, according to the Committee for Comprehensive Administration of Public Order in Beijing.
"Relevant government administrators will be punished if their areas fail to meet the goals," said an official from the committee.
The administration of dog-raising will be included in the evaluation of work done by urban districts and rural counties, and the establishment of special committees for dog raising and financial guarantees will be the key points assessed, the committee said.
Statistics provided by the Municipal Office for the Joint Conference of the Pet Dog Raising Management Work show that more than 700,000 pet dogs have been registered and have gone through annual checkups so far this year, an increase of 17 percent from a year ago.
So far, 62.5 percent of the city is covered by the dog-raising committees which total 2,000, according to the office.
Attacks on human beings by dogs are also rising. Data from the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau shows that about 83,000 people have been injured by dogs from bites or scratches so far this year, up 33.7 percent from a year earlier. Pet dogs allowed to roam off their leash are most to blame for the attacks, the bureau said.
Beijing reported two rabies deaths in February and July. The two victims, a villager in the outlying Daxing District and a chef in the eastern Chaoyang District, refused to be vaccinated after they were bitten by stray dogs.
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