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%.

[NYer]

Ping!

[NorCalRepub]

..Well I see what Kim Jong Il's next shipment of rice and "stuff" will be comprised of.....bon appetite.....

[ElkGroveDan]

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.

[edcoil]

DINNER

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah - I heard, and it was posted this morning already by someone...

I'm not gonna ping it... Mine is supposed to be a happy doggie ping list. This is just depressing :~\

[Always Right]

My thoughts too...

[GinaLolaB]

Poor doggies. I love dogs.

[Aliska]

Ugh. I'd say that was an extreme overreaction and cruel. They did some of that in Katrina, didn't shoot them until they got the owners packed on busses. I'm still mad about that and never found out if that little boy got his beloved white dog, Snowball, back. I doubt it. I spent days with some dog people, even called CBS trying to get them to followup on the story in the hopes that they could be reunited. I will never, ever forget the crassness of those police.

They could have let that little boy take the dog on the bus, and millions of people would have paid to board it until they got relocated. I would have paid the whole tab myself.

[ahayes]

Attempted eradication is an ineffective means of preventing the spread of rabies. Vaccination is a much more effective way. So far the spread of raccoon rabies into Ohio from West Virginia and Pennsylvania has been prevented by vaccine baits either dropped by a plane or placed by hand in a 20 mile strip up the border. 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.

[Sofa King]

Just like that outrage we hear over all of the dogs that PETA kills?

[Momaw Nadon]

Has PETA condemned the ChiComs yet?

crickets chirping

[Blood of Tyrants]

Haven't they heard of the rabies vaccination?

[monkfan]

Something about that story doesn't pass the sniff test. We're supposed to believe that China [!] executed 50,000 dogs because a few people got rabies? I don't doubt they did the deed; I simply doubt they did it for the pseudo-humanitarian reason given.

[SAJ]

Don't think I wanna be over there if the ChinComs decide to fight the common cold.

[Rockiette]

Well said!

[Irish_Thatcherite]

That's for sure!!

[Flavius]

dinner is served

[Cobra64]

DINNER

Ran out of cats.

[Muzzle_em]

I had no idea the vaccine could be ingested.
I thought it had to be injected. I think that is great that they are able to put it into a bait.