Chinese City With 12.5 Million Residents Bans Eating Dogs And Cats

Shenzhen has become the first city in China to permanently ban the production and consumption of cat and dog meat.

Boasting 13 million residents, the city introduced sweeping new rules that will come into effect on May 1.

Lawmakers identified that the ruling is a 'universal civilisation requirement for a modern society'.

A spokesperson for the Shenzhen government said: "Dogs and cats as pets have established a much closer relationship with humans than all other animals, and banning the consumption of dogs and cats and other pets is a common practice in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

"This ban also responds to the demand and spirit of human civilisation."

Animal activists have been calling for these measures for years and legislators have finally introduced the Shenzhen Special Economic Region Regulation on a Comprehensive Ban on the Consumption of Wild Animals.

China put in a temporary ban on wild animal markets in the wake of the coronavirus, however activists worry those rules will be relaxed if and when Covid-19 cases are reduced.

Shenzhen's new ruling on cat and dog meat will be a permanent ban, however citizens will still be able to eat pigs, cows, sheep, donkeys, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons.

Humane Society International's China policy specialist Dr Peter Li welcomed the news, adding: "With Shenzhen taking the historic decision to become mainland China's first city to ban dog and cat meat consumption, this really could be a watershed moment in efforts to end this brutal trade that kills an estimated 10 million dogs and 4 million cats in China every year.

"The majority of these companion animals are stolen from people's back yards or snatched from the streets, and are spirited away on the backs of trucks to be beaten to death in slaughterhouses and restaurants across China.

"Shenzhen is China's fifth largest city so although the dog meat trade is fairly small there compared with the rest of the province, its true significance is that it could inspire a domino effect with other cities following suit.

"Most people in China don't eat dog or cat meat, and there is considerable opposition to the trade particularly among younger Chinese.

"Although World Health Organization advice is clear that dogs and cats pose no known coronavirus threat whatsoever, it's no surprise that attention is turning to this trade at this time because it undoubtedly poses a huge human health risk for other diseases such as rabies, as well as causing immense animal suffering."