Abandoned pets abroad

Penalty or sentencing

Various social problems caused by stray animals have a long history, and even have a history of more than 100 years in Western countries .

To solve the problem of stray animals, we must strengthen source control such as pet registration, breeding, trading, and management. It is not feasible to solve or reduce the problem of stray animals by catching them alone. If a pet registration system is implemented and each animal has an identification mark, such as a dog tag, microchip, etc. The shelter can use the identification chip and dog tag to allow the owner of the lost dog to find the pet, and make the person who abandoned the pet pay the legal price.

Many countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, etc., have completed animal welfare legislation in the last century. Please take a look at the attitudes of the following countries towards abandonment: Italy: People who abandon cats and dogs will be punished Sentenced to one year in prison. Japan: If the owner cannot afford to keep a companion animal, the government animal protection office will accept the companion animal that you cannot afford to keep and will charge some fees as appropriate. Singapore: The Animal Health and Control Center under the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority is responsible for taking in stray cats and dogs, providing technical assistance in dealing with stray animal problems, dealing with issues related to animal health or animal cruelty, and educating through publications, lectures and exhibitions. Pet owners treat their pets responsibly. UK: Each district council must appoint a dog warden. It is the steward's job to catch and impound any stray dogs. If the owner comes to claim the dog, he must pay a fine of ￡25 and all costs during the custody period. United States: In the community, about 50 animal cages are needed for every 100,000 people to temporarily house unowned animals. This not only displays the humanitarian spirit, but also effectively reduces the impact of stray animals on the social environment. Influence is a very important part of public services in modern society.

Affected by various factors, more and more people have abandoned dogs in recent years. A large number of pet dogs have become stray dogs and gather in parks and communities. Their living conditions are not optimistic. Although some private dog lovers have voluntarily formed stray dog ??rescue groups, their rescue capabilities are limited. Stray dogs gather in cities and breed in large numbers, posing a threat to citizens' housing, transportation, sanitation, and personal safety. Relevant people suggested that Shenzhen could learn from the management methods of other cities and promote the concepts of civilized dog raising and animal care while setting up stray dog ??shelters.

Phenomena

Pet dogs are abandoned and become stray dogs

Every evening, Ms. Xu, who lives in a warm home, will take food to the grove behind the community to feed dog. A dozen days ago, when she was walking in the woods, she met a black puppy, which gently rubbed its head against her leg, as if it was requesting something. Ms. Xu had raised a dog before, and she could tell at a glance that the puppy was pregnant. Because her child was under two years old, Ms. Xu did not dare to take the puppy home, so she had to use old clothes to build a small nest for the puppy in the woods. Three days later, when Ms. Xu went to the woods again, the puppy had given birth to four babies, but one of them had died. From then on, Ms. Xu would deliver food to the puppy and its baby every day.

Not every stray dog ??is so lucky. A worker in charge of cleaning the park told reporters that a large number of stray dogs gathered in the park and were beaten to pieces every day fighting for food. He saw with his own eyes a smaller Chuan Chuan (non-purebred dog). His leg was bitten by a big dog.

Xiao Li, a security guard at Lianhua No. 2 Village, told reporters that stray dogs are often seen foraging for food near the trash cans in the community, turning over garbage everywhere, which not only affects the environmental sanitation of the community, but sometimes scares passing children.

“Sometimes when I see them without food, I will take the initiative to feed them, but when I see dog poop on the lawn in the community, I want to kick them.” Xiao Li’s complicated mentality represents the majority of Citizens’ views on stray dogs. Xiao Li said that in the past two years, he has obviously felt that more and more people are raising dogs in the community, and the number of stray dogs has also increased.

Zeng Fanhua, secretary-general of the Shenzhen Pet Association, feels the same way as Xiao Li.

He told reporters that there is no channel to provide detailed statistics on the number of stray dogs, but a conservative estimate is that there are at least hundreds of thousands of stray dogs in Shenzhen. Dogs have strong reproductive capabilities, and this number is still growing year by year.

Zeng Fanhua believes that the fact that pet dogs have become stray dogs is related to the mentality of urban people raising dogs. On the one hand, rich people compete with each other to show off their wealth. They keep dogs as expensive as they want, such as spots, beagles, and Pomeranians. However, once the fashion trend is over, or they have taken a fancy to more expensive dog breeds, they will soon The previous dog will be abandoned. For example, Jingba and Xishi were once favored, but now many of them are abandoned. Another thing is to keep it fresh. There are many dog ??markets now, and dogs are very cheap. Ordinary people can buy a Pekingese for one or two hundred yuan. After buying it, they can take it home and keep it for a few days before they get bored and throw it away.

Lanchi, the moderator of Shenzhen Dog Network, believes that the high population mobility in Shenzhen is also an important reason why pet dogs become stray dogs. Some people have to abandon their dogs if they can't give them away because they move, go abroad or change cities. In addition, Shenzhen people don’t like to wear dog leashes when walking their dogs. This is also one of the reasons. A "dog friend" who is familiar with the market on Dog.com also revealed to reporters that the huge profits from the pet medical industry have also indirectly made small animals victims. The pet hospital in Shenzhen charges 80-300 yuan/time for dog trauma treatment and 30-40 yuan/time for intravenous injection. All kinds of treatments are not cheap. It is precisely in the face of high medical costs that many pet owners choose to abandon them, because the cost of treating a sick dog is much higher than buying a healthy dog.

“But these sick dogs straying into society pose a serious threat to the personal safety of healthy dogs and citizens,” the dog lover said worriedly.

Private rescue is struggling

The reporter learned that the problem of stray dogs has attracted the attention of some dog lovers in society as early as a few years ago, and some private forces have invested in the rescue of stray dogs. At work. On the Shenzhen Dog Network, a stray dog ??rescue section has been set up. Dozens of stray dog ??rescue volunteers learn about stray dog ??information through the online platform and carry out rescue activities. Manlu is one of the core figures in this rescue team.

At the beginning, Ganlu and his companions were still in the "self-rescue" stage of rescuing stray dogs. Others tell them about stray dogs, and they catch them, inject them, treat them, and take them home to raise them. Later, Ganlu learned that Beijing adopts an "adoption" method to give stray dogs to families who need dogs for free. This is also a relatively mature rescue method in China. Drawing on Beijing’s experience, Ganlu also formulated the “Conditions and Guidelines for Stray Dog Adopters.” In the guidelines, she requires adopters to meet at least four conditions: 1. Good economic conditions and the ability to register stray dogs; 2. Never abandon them and seek medical treatment if they are sick; 3. Small Chuan Chuan needs birth control; 4. Headache You need to upload photos of puppies to the forum every month for half a year.

The reporter learned from the Shenzhen Urban Management Law Enforcement Brigade that the law enforcement brigade has set up a "dog fighting brigade" responsible for sending stray dogs to the Shenzhen Sanitary Treatment Plant. Sun Qingyuan, captain of the dog-fighting team, told reporters that they basically beat big dogs that were relatively large and potentially harmful. "Some small stray dogs that are not harmful to the public are best adopted by someone," Sun Qingyuan said. He hoped that some small stray dogs that he had caught in the past could be adopted by families, but there was a lack of channels to release information about stray dogs, so in the end he had to give them away. Go to the sanitary treatment plant.

Recommendations

Through legislation to curb abandonment

Pet dogs become stray dogs, and the dog's own survival and safety are challenged. From the perspective of urban management It appears that stray dogs pose a threat to citizens’ housing, transportation, sanitation, and personal safety. In this regard, Zeng Fanhua, secretary-general of the Shenzhen Pet Industry Association, appeared worried: "Stray dogs gather in cities and breed in large numbers, which will have a negative impact on urban health and social civilization. The spread of infectious diseases, rabies, etc., directly threatens human life safety. , the damage caused by dogs to urban green belts cannot be ignored.”

Zeng Fanhua introduced that in foreign countries, the problem of stray dogs is usually solved by “taking in and adopting”. Shelter centers are either run by local governments or run by private individuals, and come in various forms. After the dogs are taken in, they will be cleaned, dewormed, vaccinated or neutered, and await adoption.

In many countries, you can often see notices at shelters asking for donations of animal food and welcoming adoptions at the entrances of some supermarkets. Stray animal shelters always have limited capacity, so animals that are seriously ill, disabled, in pain, and those that are unclaimed after being sheltered for several months are euthanized. At present, this method is also implemented in Beijing, Shanghai and other places. "The management of stray animals in a city also directly reflects the standards of civilization in that city." Zeng Fanhua suggested that Shenzhen can also establish a unified stray animal rescue base, establish and improve a private stray animal adoption system, and find new homes for stray pets.

The reporter learned from the Legal Affairs Department of the Shenzhen Urban Management Bureau that the problem of stray dogs has also attracted the attention of the urban management department. In the "Shenzhen Dog Breeding Management Regulations (Second Draft Revision)" submitted for review in January this year, it has been clearly stipulated that the district urban management law enforcement department should arrange a shelter for dogs to be responsible for sheltering stray, abandoned, lost, temporarily stored and confiscated dogs in accordance with the law. of dogs. A staff member of the Legal Affairs Department told reporters that after the regulations are promulgated, the shelter can be set up, but the specific how to operate has not yet been clarified.

“Policy is one aspect. Only by changing people’s concept of raising dogs can we cure the symptoms and root causes.” Ganlu, who has already tried the “adoption system”, told reporters that changing the concept of “pet dogs as toys” among urban people will Spreading the concept of civilized dog raising and caring for animals is also extremely important to reduce stray dogs. Otherwise, stray dogs will still be prone to "secondary" abandonment and wandering again after entering the shelter and being adopted.

Sun Qingyuan believes that animal protection legislation must be introduced to fundamentally solve the problem of stray animals. Only through legislation that clarifies the rights and obligations of dog owners can "stray dogs" be reduced from the source. At the same time, legislation to protect animals' right to survival and related welfare can effectively stop the worsening trend of animal abandonment and gradually establish a harmonious relationship between humans and animals