CHINA - 50,000 dogs killed to fight rabies

Asia News ^ | August 1, 2006

[NYer]

After three deaths from rabies, the local government ordered the blanket extermination of dogs. Pets were subsequently killed in the streets in front of their owners. Only police and army dogs were spared.

Beijing (AsiaNews/agencies) – No less than 50,000 dogs were put down by government order after the death of three people from rabies.

In Mouding county in the south-west province of Yunnan, the massacre lasted five days and only military guard dogs and police canine units were spared.

Dogs being walked were taken from their owners and killed there and then. Other teams charged with slaughtering the dogs entered villages at night creating noise to get them barking. Then they went and caught them. Even 4,000 dogs immunized against the sickness were put to death in case the immunizations were not effective. Compensation of 60 US cents was paid for each dog.

About 360 of the county's 200,000 residents were bitten by dogs this year, with three reported deaths, including a four-year-old girl.

The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said that in recent years China has seen a major rise in the number of rabies cases, with 2,651 reported deaths in 2004. Experts say the increase is due to a major increase in dog ownership, particularly in rural areas where about 70% of households keep dogs. But it is also due to a very low rate of rabies vaccination that is only about 3%.

[woofer]

Poor doggies. I love dogs.

mmmmmmmm....puppy on a stick.

Droool!

[Pearls Before Swine]

Rabies -- jus wait 'til the Chinese have decided that AIDS has reached critical public health status.

[ahayes]

It's chiefly meant for raccoons, although I think it's been used for foxes and skunks with good results. It's not approved for domestic animals and hasn't been tested in dogs or cats.

[river rat]

STAY OUT OF CHINESE RESTAURANTS for at least 3 months.

Semper Fi

[Vigilanteman]

My Dad was a vet. He had a professional colleague who worked for the state rabies control board. Skunks were the worst passers of rabies. While a decented skunk can be quite cute and make a good pet, wild skunks are nasty, very territorial and quick to spray or bite anything which looks even remotely threatening.

Dogs have the bad habit of being naturally curious (like cats) and unwilling to back down from fights (unlike cats) so are often the victim of skunk bites.

My Dad's colleague had the unenviable task of swabbing road-kill skunks to check for rabies. Quite often, passing motorists would stop to see what he was doing and ask questions. He got so tired of the routine he told one guy "That skunk cussed a blue streak when I hit him, so I'm washing out his mouth." Well, it was pretty funny back in the 1960's when the standard response of parents to their children's swearing was to force them to hold a bar of soap in their mouths.

[LtKerst]

The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

What the Hell do they do when there is a Flu going around???

shoot everyone in a hundred mile radius???

These Chinese are dangerous! 21st century technology
and Commie Morality.

[green pastures]

"They did some of that in Katrina, didn't shoot them until they got the owners packed on busses."

Not in all cases.

http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/content/shared/news/nation/stories/09/08KATRINA_RESCUE.html

Excerpt:

"Despite such political wrangling in the city, cops in St. Bernard Parish made it clear Wednesday that they weren't interested in taking no for an answer. Nor were they taking dogs they deemed too big or dangerous.

That left forced evacuee Marie Miller on the verge of tears.

"They shot our dogs!" Miller, a 54-year-old housewife, said of her mixed pit bulls, Angel and Hooch. She had gone inside to collect clothes and personal papers when she heard it.

"Boom! Boom!" Miller said. "Hooch came in and had blood all over him."

Miller, husband William and 20-year-old daughter Shannon were taken to a local warehouse dubbed Camp Katrina, where they received tetanus shots and other medical treatment from Mid Georgia Ambulance Co. of Macon, Ga., a private company that volunteered to help.

Shannon sat on her red Marlboro duffel bag, clutching her Chihuahua, Sassy, who was small enough to save. Crying, she recalled what had happened less than an hour before. She didn't see the shot. She just knew it was to Angel's head."

[greenthumbedislndr]

>We'll hear a whole lot more outrage from Western nations
> over this than we will hear over the continual slaughter
> of Chinese babies born and unborn.

Yup... you said it. PETA is certainly concerned about the doggies but they don't give a darn about the humans and the babies.

[Fawn]

Dogs being walked were seized from their owners and beaten to death on the spot, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported. Led by the county police chief, killing teams entered villages at night creating noise to get dogs barking, then beat the animals to death, the reports said.
Link: http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2006/08/02/rabies_scare_prompts_killing_of_50000_dogs/

[Aliska]

It's been too long, but I think that might have been a separate incident. All I remember is that they put people on busses without their dogs, tied the dogs on their leashes and shot them all.

Thanks for the link, but that's not quite the way I read it and have no desire to read it again as it made me ill.

[green pastures]

What I meant was that it wasn't in all cases that they waited for the owners to board busses before shooting their dogs. In this case they shot them in front of their owners in their home.

[Aliska]

Sorry I missed your point. Either way, it was a bad scene. And for the owners of the dogs that got relocated; they never had the consolation of knowing they were ok and still grieved over their pets.

I know desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures. People used to put down their own pets for one reason or another and we have gotten soft about it, at least I have.

When it was discussed, people would get mad that some of us would get upset about the animals because the people were more important. Well I contributed to two people charities first and then I contributed to the Houston SPCA. A lot of good any of it probably did.

[Bogtrotter52]

I am very amused right now. I was just reading DU and came across a posting asking the question Do you think someone who murder a pregnant woman should be charge for tow murder. The general concensus there, besides waffling and sidestepping was no, because it would be the start of outlawing abortion. IMMEDIATLY after reading that I found a posting on the dogs in China issue. What a differance. Not many replies, but it is early yet. The most amusing reply, #5, was from a DUmmie calling themself nam78_two: "Good God! Is there any way to help, donate, anything?" Complete with little crying face and sad face icons. Only in DUmmieland

[ElkGroveDan]

It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Thanks.

[alrea]

Control of rabies in wild animals has also been achieved by the use of these baits in Canada and Europe. It's more expensive than going out and killing a bunch of dogs, but way more useful.

ping