The consensus among this city's political leadership is clear
Guangzhou has a dog problem.
Deputies to the city's people's congress and members of its
political consultative conference have raised concerns about the
sticky issues surrounding dog-ownership at recent meetings.
In a resolution presented to the people's congress, Lei Jianwei,
a deputy who works at Lawsons Law Office, said the city should
consider both dropping the large fees dog-owners have to pay to
register their pets and lowering their annual management fees. The
fees in the city are the country's highest.
"Because the fees are so high, many citizens just ignore the
regulation," Lei said.
Ominously, many dog-owners do not have their pets vaccinated
against communicable diseases because they are afraid of being
fined for not registering the animals, he said.
In addition to scrapping the registration fee, Lei suggested
that the annual management fee be cut to no more than 1,000 yuan
($128). Further discounts should be offered to people who rely on
dogs for companionship, he said.
Meanwhile, Lin Gaochao, a member of the city's political
consultative conference, hit some very similar sounding notes in
recent comments.
"There are so many unregistered and unvaccinated dogs in
Guangzhou. The dog problem is by no means a trifling matter," Lin
said.
Mayor Zhang Guangning said the city government would not control
the way people raised their dogs, and that the relevant department
would beef up the management efforts.
(China Daily January 31, 2007)