One-dog Policy to Fight Rabies in China

A dog's life will never be quite the same again in Beijing, where government population controls are to extend from the bedroom to the kennel.

Under a one-dog policy unveiled today, millions of families will be banned from providing company for their single children with more than one canine pet.

In selected areas, large dogs, such as doberman and labradors, will be prohibited. Elsewhere, man's best friend will be told that he or she is not welcome in parks, green spaces and other public areas.

According to the Xinhua news agency, dog control authorities in nine areas have been ordered to destroy surplus pets, and families that keep them without permission will be punished. China's capital will institute a one-dog policy for each household in nine areas, the agency reported.

"Only one pet dog is allowed per household in the zones, and dangerous and large dogs will be banned. Anyone keeping an unlicensed dog will face prosecution," it said.

Outside the target zones, Xinhua said owners are prohibited from taking their pets into hospitals, schools, markets, shops, public gymnasiums, hotels, parks, cinemas, railway waiting rooms and sightseeing areas. Large and ferocious dogs must be restrained.

The measures have been introduced to control one of the worst outbreaks of rabies in recent memory. The ministry of health said rabies had overtaken tuberculosis and Aids as the country's most deadly disease, excluding the common cold. In the first nine months of this year, the country recorded 2,254 rabies cases, almost all fatal, up 30% on the same period in 2005.

According to the Beijing Dog Supervision Office, 550,000 dogs are registered in the capital and another half a million are kept by owners who have not paid the 1,000 yuan (about £65) licence fee.

Several local governments have conducted massive culls, including that of 50,000 dogs in Mouding, Yunnan province, this summer.

Animal lovers said the slaughter and restrictions wrongly punished dogs for the errors of owners. And they pointed out that more than 80% of reported bites of humans were inflicted by small dogs.

"It is wrong to consider dogs as a threat to human beings. There are no evil dogs, only bad masters," said Meng Xiaoshe, editor of the Dog Daily website. "We should learn from other countries' experiences, instead of allowing the fates of our dogs to be decided by the whims of officials."