Gone to the dogs

China is struggling with a doggy problem. The number of pet dogs in China’s big cities has increased dramatically in the past couple of years. In the past, Chinese citizens couldn’t raise dogs. It was illegal, or ‘not done’ which in the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution was about the same thing. Now it is legal so everybody and his dog wants to have… a dog. In Beijing there are now 550,000 dogs.

It is actually a rather good thing, because in that way people learn to care for animals, a social skill which was has been sorely lacking in China in the past.

According to the doggy rules and regulations, you are supposed to register your dog with public security bureaus, pay a one-time registration fee and subsequently a yearly administration fee. Having done that, you also have to have your dog vaccinated.

That’s the theory. Most people don’t bother to register their dog because it is a hassle to take your dog to the PSB, and it costs money to pay the fees. And so people also don’t vaccinate their dog.

Only 3% of dogs in China are vaccinated. The result is that the number of rabies cases is also rising. In the first half of 2006 more than 1,100 people died of a rabies infection. In September alone the death toll was 318. This of course is a legitimate problem that needs to be solved.

But China has a first-world problem (the rising dog population) and is using a third-world method (clubbing them to death) to solve it. That’s not very nice.

Big dogs, ferocious dogs and second dogs are now banned in Beijing. Following the one child policy, there is now a one dog policy. Only one dog per household is allowed.

The solution is to abolish dog registration and the fees that go with it. People don’t bother anyway. But tell people it is absolutely mandatory to have their dogs vaccinated. For the health of the dogs, the dogs’ owners and other people. To help things along, make vaccination free and give out a vaccination certificate to prove that the dog is vaccinated. Then let the police patrol the streets and check the dogs. If they are not vaccinated, take them away from their owners. That way people will learn fast and all the doggies will be happy.