Qingdao limits residents to one dog per household

The city of Qingdao in China’s eastern Shandong Province released new regulations on June 8 that limit dog ownership to just one per household, according to the Guardian. In an interview in the Beijing News (in Chinese), a police official explained that the rules were spurred by “more and more people raising dogs, which has led to some dogs disturbing residents, and even injuring people.” The official also noted that the rules were “based on the approach adopted by other cities.” Beijing introduced a similar policy in 2006, and Shanghai introduced a law on dog ownership in 2011.

The new rules allow residents who already have more than one dog to keep them, as long as they are registered with the city and have been immunized. Unregistered or unimmunized dogs, however, should be taken to to the city’s pet adoption agencies. The new rules also establish fines for the abandonment, mistreatment, and slaughtering of dogs, imposing an initial fine of 2,000 yuan ($295) on rule breakers. In addition, around 40 “ferocious” dog breeds are banned in the city under the new rules, including pit bulls, Doberman pinschers, and Tibetan mastiffs.

The newly implemented policy was welcomed by many internet users (in Chinese) on the social media platform Weibo, with one commenter writing, “Nothing wrong with these rules. In fact, I want more restrictions on dog ownership.” Others found the regulations “cruel.” One person wrote, “Despite being such a big country, China still lacks laws to protect those lives that have been abandoned or abused. Rather, it keeps coming up with more restrictions. This is so inhumane!”

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