New rules on dogs

Writer: Wang Jingli  | Editor: Holly Wang  | From: Shenzhen Daily | Updated: 2019-10-17

Pet dog owners should register dogs that are over 3 months old in the city’s unified system and help inject microchips into pets, according to a new pet dog management regulation published for public opinion.

The new regulation also excludes rural Chinese dogs from the list of dangerous and forbidden breeds. At the same time, stray dogs can be euthanized if they are not adopted within 14 days.

It is said that the decision was made against the background that Shenzhen has seen a growing number of stray dogs in recent years due to the irresponsible behaviors of dog owners, which has put more pressure on management.

Additionally, dog management departments have received multiple complaints about disturbances by dogs and attacks on residents over the years.

The new regulation revised the list of dangerous and forbidden dog breeds to 25 types, including pit bull terrier and Tibetan mastiff. However, rural Chinese dogs raised by many local residents have been excluded from the list.

Legal pet dog sellers and pet stores should also register dogs that have not been sold for more than seven days. Registered dogs should be injected with microchips, which is a free service. The microchips will record the dog’s name, age and photo, along with the dog’s vaccination information and owners’ contact information.

Pet owners are not allowed to throw away the bodies of dead dogs randomly. Instead, they should send the bodies to the city’s waste disposal center for processing.

Pet owners will be fined 500 yuan (US$70.7) if found taking dogs to prohibited public places, according to the new rules.

Each district is required to establish a dog collection center that is in charge of housing and managing stray dogs, abandoned dogs and dogs that are temporarily seized by the district’s law enforcement department, and offering medical, vaccination and registration services.

Residents can adopt dogs at the center after processing registration and vaccinating the dogs and paying the relevant fees. The center has the right to euthanize dogs that are on the forbidden list, diagnosed with incurable diseases or in the final stage of dangerous infectious diseases.

Opinions are welcomed to be sent via email to jczf@cgj.sz.gov.cn by Oct. 31.