President Hu Jintao responds to Chinese and international dog lovers!
The December 13 South China Morning Post, in an article by Jane Cai, states that President Hu Jintao of China has intervened to put an end to the terrible culling of dogs that had been taking place in China.According to the article, “One petitioner said Mr Hu's chief secretary had told her the president had read her two petitions, signed by more than 60,000 people, calling for an end to the campaign. She said Mr. Hu was unhappy about the complaints and international media coverage of the campaign, and had put a stop to the programme late last month.
“A government official confirmed Mr Hu had ordered a halt after
reading the letters.”
In Yunnan Province where the dog culling began last August, tens of thousands of dogs had been killed, often in very brutal ways and sometimes in front of their owners.
Then the dog culling campaign moved to Beijing in October. All dogs over 35 cm (14 inches) were targeted, apparently on the theory that dogs over 14 inches are more dangerous and aggressive than dogs under fourteen inches. Also families were being forced to give up all except one dog. These laws had been on the books, but had not previously been enforced.
Enforcing the laws was entirely new and took people by surprise.
Guardians of large breed dogs or of more than one dog were put into desperate positions, some only walking their dogs after dark, others searching for homes outside the city where they could pay someone to care for their dogs. Many dogs were seized in Beijing, and it has been difficult for families to know whether the pets seized from them have been killed, kept in shelters or adopted out.
In Beijing there was a large, noisy protest against the dog culling by around 500 people, holding up signs. In Hong Kong a large, silent vigil was held, led by Animals Asia.
People around the world signed petitions. Best Friends received nearly a hundred emails from people inside China, desperately asking for help for themselves and their dogs, requesting that the world do something to stop the dog culling.
A million thanks to all of you who wrote letters in response to these pleas and who signed petitions! This is a significant victory for dogs and for the people who love them!
A very apt comment was posted on the Asian Animals Protection Network group site by Dr. Chinny Krishna of Blue Cross of India:“Good news after a long time.
In any country, the court of last resort is not the
Supreme Court of that country - it is the will of the people
that counts in the final analysis.
The pen is mightier than the scalpel and the club, but
we must learn to wield the pen without putting the
opponents back up against the wall.
Let us learn the message of this campaign - together
we can make a difference. Especially if we do not mind
who gets the credit for success.”
S. Chinny Krishna
Blue Cross of India
Please write a thank you note!Please write to the Chinese Embassy in your country thanking them and thanking President Hu Jintao for bringing an end to the dog culling and for choosing to pursue a positive program of spaying/neutering and rabies vaccinations instead!
For more information on Asian animal issues, please use the search feature on the AAPN website:
http://www.aapn.org/ or search the list archives at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aapnPlease feel free to send any relevant news or comments to the list at aapn@yahoogroups.com
If you can, please attend the Asia for Animals Conference to be held in Chennai, India, from January 10-12, 2007. To find out more, please go to http://www.asiaforanimals.org