China has excluded dogs from farm animals in a drafted directive, which could see canine meat being barred from the dinner plate across the country.
The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said it recognises dogs as ‘companion animals’ and ‘not suitable’ to be managed as livestock in the document released yesterday.
Only the animals officially listed as livestock or poultry can be bred, raised, traded and transported for commercial purposes in China, according to China’s Animal Husbandry Law.
This means the proposal can potentially prevent around 10 million dogs being killed for their meat every year in the country.
The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said it recognises dogs as ‘companion animals’ and ‘not suitable’ to be managed as livestock in a drafted directive. The picture shows butchered dogs being sold at a market in the Chinese city of Yulin at a festival on June 21, 2016
The news comes after the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Wednesday published a tentative version of the country’s Directory of Genetic Resources of Livestock and Poultry.
But in a sharp turn of the event, a worker from the Ministry denied that the proposal was aimed at banning the eating of dogs.
The unnamed official told Chinese news outlet The Paper the exclusion of dogs in the directory only means they cannot be ‘managed’ as livestock, and ‘it has nothing to do with the eating or breeding of dogs’.
Nonetheless, animal welfare activists are considering the proposal ‘a game-changer moment for animal protection in China’.
The annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival is one of the most controversial food festivals in China and sees thousands of dogs cruelly killed, skinned and cooked with blow-torches before being eaten by the locals. The picture shows dog meat being served at the festival on June 21, 2017
Last week, the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen became the first city in China to ban the eating of dogs.
In late February, China banned all trade and consumption of wild animals, a practice believed responsible for the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ministry’s catalogue lists 18 types of ‘traditional livestock’, including pigs, cows, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, camels, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons and quails.
It also covers 13 types of ‘special livestock’, including sika deer, red deer, reindeer, alpacas, guinea fowls, pheasants, partridges, mallards, ostriches, minks, the American red fox, the Arctic fox and raccoon dogs. The last four species can be traded, but not for their meat.
The Ministry’s list has 31 types of livestock, which can be bred, raised, traded and transported for commercial purposes in China. It says dogs are ‘not suitable’ to be managed as livestock
In a separate explanation sheet, the Ministry said it drafted the directory to show its support of the wild animal ban by Beijing.
In particular, it stressed the importance of treating dogs as companion animals, not livestock.
The authority said: ‘In the wake of the progress of human civilisation and the attention the public give to animal protection, dogs have evolved from livestock to companion animals and are generally not considered as livestock internationally.
‘It is not suitable for our country to list (them) as livestock for management purpose.’
The Ministry said it compiled the list after seeking advice from 36 organs of the central government, 31 regional governments as well as experts from institutes and universities.
It is seeking feedback from the public on the proposal until May 8.
Animal welfare groups have expressed their support for the proposal.
Charity organisation Humane Society International has called it a ‘game-changer’.
Its spokesperson Wendy Higgins said: ‘Although this draft proposal isn’t in itself a ban, it could signal a game-changer moment for animal protection in China.
‘Coming so soon after Shenzhen’s dog and cat meat ban, this is the first time the national government in China has explicitly explained why dogs and cats are excluded from the official livestock list, stating that these are companion animals and not for eating.
Activists and legal experts have in the past proposed animal protection law to ban the eating of dogs and cats. The earliest such campaigns can be traced back to 2009.
But so far, no national legislation has been released to officially forbid people from consuming pets.
The annual Yulin Dog Meat Festival is one of the most controversial food festivals in China and sees thousands of dogs cruelly killed, skinned and cooked with blow-torches before being eaten by the locals.
Explaining the significance of the proposal, Ms Higgins said: ‘We have never had the national government say that before.
‘Dogs and cats have never been on the livestock list, so that’s not new, but an explicit explanation for why they are not listed has never been seen before and I do think that could encourage other cities after Shenzhen to progress bans.
No law prevents people from abusing animals in China
Chinese activists have been urging for a law to protect the welfare of animals for years
While China has laws to safeguard land-based and aquatic wildlife, it currently lacks legislation to protect animal welfare or to prevent cruelty towards animals.
In September 2009, animal rights activists and legal experts began circulating a draft Law on the Protection of Animals and in 2010, a draft Law on the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the State Council’s consideration, according to Human Rights in China, a Chinese non-governmental organisation based in New York.
The draft proposes a fine of up to 6,000 yuan (£693) and two weeks’ detention for those found guilty of animal cruelty, according to China Daily. However till this day, no progress has been made.
While the country’s first ever legislation protecting animal welfare has yet to be adopted, the increasing cases of animal abandonment and serious cruelty towards animals such as killing of dogs and burning of cats have led to serious resentment within society.