A letter warning that stray dogs at a dog adoption and treatment center in Guanlan Subdistrict, Longhua District, were in a serious situation due to a lack of basic medical devices, hygienic environment and effective management was distributed online Thursday morning.
Feng Zengjun, vice head of the Municipal Urban Administration and Law Enforcement Bureau, confirmed certain problems reported in the letter at a news conference held yesterday afternoon after the bureau visited the center.
Feng said that they required the center to rectify its unruly management after being notified of the case and the center corrected its behavior.
“We found that animals at the center were healthy and did not find any dead or abused dogs on site. All dogs were separated based on gender and provided with food and water. The center also housed big and dangerous breeds in different areas,” said Feng.
Regarding the claim in the letter that there was only one elderly staffer handling the dogs at the center, Feng said that the center has a total of nine workers.
However, Feng said that it is far from being considered a high-quality center, like the ones in Hong Kong, in terms of management level and facilities.
“We required the center to further improve its management during the visit,” added Feng, “Residents are welcome to visit the place and adopt dogs there.”
Regarding the reported illegal use of government subsides and other financial transparency issues, Feng said that he cannot confirm these at the moment but would inform the public once the investigation is completed.
Feng stressed that the city has put great efforts toward improving dog management, especially regarding stray dogs.
“There are nearly 30,000 stray dogs in the city. Without scientific management, these dogs might cause problems like an outbreak of rabies,” said Feng, while adding that residents had shown great concern over the issue.
As a result, the city has started to address the issue by establishing “Love Your Pet Dog Day” on May 29 each year, launching an online dog registration platform and planning to inject microchips into all pet dogs, according to Feng.
A demonstration site for a dog adoption and treatment center is also planned to be built in Nanshan District this year.