Starting from November 16, the city of Chengdu will ban a total of 22 dog breeds in several restricted areas in the city, which includes major Chengdu districts such as Wuhou, Chenghua, Jinniu, and Jinjiang.
The banned breeds are mostly larger dogs, or those known for their sometimes aggressive nature. The banned dogs breeds include the German Shepherd, Staffordshite Terrier, Mastiff, Bull Terrier and Pitbull Terrier, Akita, Newfoundland, Great Dance, and others (see full list here). The list also includes the common Chinese rural dog.
The hashtag “Chengdu Cleans Up Dogs” (#成都清理禁养犬#) had over 330 million views on Weibo at time of writing, making it the top trending topic of the day.
Pet owners are devastated about the ban on 22 dog breeds in Chengdu.
Earlier this week, Chengdu Expat already wrote about the new measures, which reportedly are implemented to “create a civilized and hygienic environment,” and to push pet owners to register their dogs.
GoChengdu also warned pet owners that if they live in a restricted area and their dog belongs to the banned breeds, they need to find a new home for it (in an unrestricted area) before November 16.
Chengdu Expat also recommends pet owners to make sure their dogs have the right vaccinations, and to keep their pet passports with them at all times.
On Weibo, many netizens are dismayed with the recent measures. “They shouldn’t ban the dogs, they should educate pet owners,” many commenters say.
There are also commenters, however, who say they support the new crackdown on bigger dog breeds, saying it protects people and makes the city a safer place.
The past year has seen many incidents with dogs making headlines in China. In late October, two incident of (unleashed) dogs attacking people in the streets, leading to serious injuries, went viral on Chinese social media – also leading to more people calling for better dog regulations in China.
In the city of Wenshan, dog owners were recently banned from walking their dogs on the street between 7am and 10pm each day, and Hangzhou has also implemented new measures to “clean up uncivilised dog-keeping behaviour”
One of the most discussed things within this topic is the Chengdu ban on the Chinese common dog, that is listed with the other 21 banned breeds. “We’re not even allowed to raise our own Chinese dogs!”, many say: “What did the common Chinese dog ever do wrong?”
“Today is a sad day,” one Weibo user wrote: “Reading about the Chinese rural dog becoming a banned dog makes me cry.”
Other netizens are also emotional about the new measures, writing: “They are basically asking us to ‘dispose of’ our own family members.”
By Manya Koetse
Follow @whatsonweibo
Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us.
©2018 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com
The post Chengdu Bans 22 Dog Breeds – Owners Need to Find a “New Home” for Their Pet appeared first on What's on Weibo.