(IANS) Animal welfare groups in China are now challenging an ages-old tradition of eating dogs, urging people to change their "nasty habit".
Citing health reasons and animal rights, a few groups are resorting to advertisements and social campaigns to dissuade people from eating dogs.
Such a campaign is, however, irritating meat traders and fans of the cuisine, popular in northeastern and southern parts of China, says the China Daily.
Fang Dan, director of the publicity department of Ta Foundation, a private group working for animal welfare, said videos calling for people to give up eating dogs are being broadcast every day on Beijing's outdoor advertising screens.
Celebrities were invited to be part of the videos. In one video, a presenter said dog meat was "not quarantined and contains large amounts of bacteria" and so people should not eat it.
Eating dogs in China dates back to the Neolithic Age. In winter, eating dog meat is socially acceptable as people believe it has medicinal qualities.
In an encyclopaedia on traditional Chinese medicine written during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.), four prescriptions containing dog meat have been recorded.
Jin Meihua, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Academy of Social Sciences' Centre for Northeast Asian Studies, said: "It's a tradition, it's part of life ... it has never caused any controversy here."
In October, a Chinese animal protection group saved nearly 800 dogs from traders in Zigong in southwest Sichuan province.
A 600-year-old dog meat festival in Zhejiang province was cancelled permanently in September after animal rights groups launched an online campaign to protest the slaughter of dogs at the event.
Some restaurants have also given up serving dog meat.
A Korean restaurant in Beijing has stopped providing dog meat after receiving protests from many animal protection organisations.
Zhang Dan, co-founder of China Animal Protection Media Saloon, established in 2009, said the government has not promoted the legislation or publicity against eating dogs.
However, those who make a living from dog meat do not like the idea of banning the dishes.
"My family ekes out a living from selling dog meat, and I was raised by my parents that way," said Zhang Guiping, the 42-year-old owner of a restaurant in Guizhou province, where dog cuisine is famous.
Many Chinese consumers are not convinced either. They do not think dog meat was different from pork and mutton.
A Beijing resident Huang Xiaoshan wrote on his blog that if people stop eating dog meat, animal protection groups may continue to "persuade people not to have beef, chicken and fish".
2011/9/21 1:10:58 Authorities in a Chinese province were forced to call off and ban a dog meat festival following public protests over the event, the Global Times reported.
The eighth Dog Meat Festival in Zhejiang province will not be happening after local officials folded under public pressure and banned the event, the Jinhua Daily reported on its microblog.
Dog meat has been part of the traditional Chinese diet. However, in recent years, some people have begun to believe that dogs are close friends of humans and shouldn't be eaten.
"The Jinhua government told me that they wanted to cancel the festival too," Lu Di, the head of the China Small Animal Protection Association (CSAPA), said Monday. "But they are hesitant to do so because the festival has been around for a long time."
The festival stems from an old story. During the autumn of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a Ming emperor's general Hu Dahai failed to win a battle in Jinhua because his army disturbed local dogs whose barking exposed their presence.
Hu killed all the dogs in Jinhua and later won the battle. To celebrate the success, emperor Zhu Yuanzhang arranged a dog meat banquet in Jinhua for Hu.
The festival has been held for eight years as a government-sponsored activity.
About 5,000 to 10,000 dogs were slaughtered during the festival. Many of them were stolen pet dogs or dogs that had been poisoned, said insiders.
A web user launched an online campaign Monday on sina.com to protest the festival. By the end of the day, his call had been forwarded over 18,000 times.
The web user maintained that one can eat dog meat at home or other places. But if the personal activity has been turned into a group action and people kill dogs in a brutal way, that is disrespectful to life, he contended. (IANS)
Although not fond of dogs, Amrita Arora calls herself an animal-friendly person .
And just which ‘puppies’ are we talking about? In this day and age of ‘kiss-and-tell’, let us tell you it ain’t on-screen kisses that we are referring to, but four-legged animals. Dogs and their young ones don’t quite form a part of Amrita Arora’s list of favourites.
“I’m not very fond of dogs,” she tells us. So, there’s not quite much room for them in her new spacious home. But, on other hand, Amrita is an animal-friendly person. “I just don’t like it when people are cruel to animals,” says the soft-hearted lass. Well that’s a good thought, Amu!
Licences for pets mandatory, Rs 1000 per female dog
2011/6/6 6:45:25 Special cells will be formed on priority in all the Municipalities to notify and address the dog bite cases as per the Municipal Act which the state government was firm on implementing in view of the gravity of the situation.
The Ministry of Municipal Administration is also contemplating to make it mandatory for pet dog owners to obtain license strictly on payment of Rs 50 each.
For female dogs the owners will have to pay Rs 1000.
Registration of all the pet dogs was made mandatory and the owners were also expected to bring to the notice the delivery of their dogs and sale of their pets to others to the concerned department.
Municipalities and the panchayats have been also issued fresh directions to coordinate with the Non Government Organizations like Blue Cross Society and others to control the stray dogs’ menace.
As part of these measures, the Animal Welfare Board of India and municipalities would share the cost of conducting the sterilization operations in dogs to curb an explosion in their population.
The local municipalities and the animal protection bodies will henceforth function under a vigilance committee headed by the Municipal Commissioner for effective results to check rabies disease and to take steps to sterilize the dogs. The sterilised dogs would be released later.
Once the stray dogs have been caught and sterilised, they would be tagged for future identity.
All the above measures were being taken to exercise caution in the first place and then take steps to curb the dog menace in order to restore confidence among the people, said a government source in the Secretariat on Monday.
Efforts on to control dog menace, bite cases in city: CVO
2011/6/3 12:43:09 The Chief Veterinarian Officer on Friday said that efforts are on to curb the menace of stray dogs and bring down the incidences of dog bites by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.
The CVO informed Hyderabad Mayor Banda Karthika Reddy during a review meeting that the dog bites cases and the measures being taken to control the dog population in GHMC limits that the Corporation is implementing the Animal Birth Control Cum Anti Rabies Programme (ABC/AR Programme) which is recommended by the Animal Welfare Board of India and also advised by the World Health Organization, being the only scientific method to control the stray dog population.
In this process the stray dogs are being caught and they are being subjected to Birth Control Operations, De-worming and Anti Rabies Vaccinations and released back in the same locality after post operative care as per the Standing Operating Procedures (SOP) norms of AWBI of India.
The rabid dogs, terminally ill dogs and fatally injured dogs are only put to sleep under the supervision of a qualified Veterinarian. Since, the dogs are being released back in the same localities from where they were caught after Birth Control Operations. Due to which the normal citizens are thinking that the dogs are remains same in their localities.
In order to create awareness among the general public the GHMC is taking all the relevant measures to give vide publicity to this programme. It is a result oriented very good programme which is in the interest of public health and will take considerable time for giving good and sustainable results.
Presently the GHMC is having sufficient paraphernalia and expertise for the implementation of the programme and implementing the same in the good spirit as per the Standing Operating Procedures (SOP) norms of AWBI of India. Once the considerable dogs will be sterilized, the good results will be seen by the general public also, the CVO said.
The Animal Welfare Board of India also appreciated the GHMC for conducting of ABC/AR Programme. Recently in meeting with Chief Secretary, Government of A.P., the Commissioner, GHMC appraised the programmes conducted by GHMC to reduce the dog population in GHMC limits.
The Director, Animal Husbandry Department also took GHMC as a role model for conducting ABC/AR Programme in the overall State.
Pet owners too responsible for rabies spread: Amala
2011/6/18 12:07:28 Yesteryear’s film actress and founder member of Blue Cross Society Amala Akkineni on Saturday condemned the owners of pet dogs, holding them responsible for letting loose their animals and the resultant spread of rabies among the victims.
“The pet dogs were not given the anti-rabies vaccines though the medicine was abundantly available by the government,” she told media persons at the Secretariat on Saturday.
The Blue Cross itself received complaints of six rabies deaths due to the pet dogs, the former actress said, while defending the existence and taming of dogs.
When asked whether she had more affinity for dogs than the fellow humans, Amala Akkineni clarified that nobody could achieve anything by killing the animals and emphasised on the need to take precautionary measures in advance.
Her opposition to the birth control programme and cruel killings of dogs was made known specifically.
“It is illegal to kill stray dogs,” the former actress said, stating that even the World Health Organization was against such an exercise.
“There have been no reports of any deaths due to rabies in Chennai and Jaipur,” she informed, conveying a message that the governments there took all precautionary steps to prevent spread of the dreaded disease.
Amala Akkineni had come to the Secretariat armed with number of proposals before the government, to safeguard the canines who are being blamed for the spread of the disease in the state and the resultant deaths.
Mass vaccination of dogs was suggested to prevent deaths in the first place, besides imposition of certain rules and regulations strictly for maintaining pet dogs.
She suggested dog squads and special nets for catching the stray dogs, besides demanding that after sterilization operations, the canines must be released back to the place of their capture.
Amala Akkineni quoted the World Health Organization as defending the lives of the dogs.
Earlier, the former actress met Chief Secretary S V Prasad and submitted her proposals. She was accompanied by Chairman, Animal Welfare Board of India, Major General (Retired) RR Kharb.(INN)
The state government is now on a tax-mopping spree. After raising crores of rupees by way of auctioning government land, the state government then went ahead and raised the market value of properties in order to garner more money by way of registration fees.
The GHMC is now getting ready to impose a tax on dogs. The corporation has quoted a 1951 municipal act, which makes it mandatory for all dog owners to get their dogs registered with the corporation.
The GHMC now wants the dog owners to pay a tax of Rs. 1,000 per dog per annum. The pet dogs have to be compulsorily registered with the corporation. The government will vaccinate the dogs free of charge!
Staff shortage to be filled, concerted efforts on to curb dog menace: Mahidhar
2011/6/1 11:56:02
“The Municipal Departments, though understaffed, are making concerted efforts to subject dogs to sterilisation to check their multiplication as part of the measures to prevent the spread of rabies,” stated Municipal Administration Minister M Mahidhar Reddy on Wednesday.
Talking to media persons at the state Secretariat, Mr Mahidhar Reddy said that the issue of vacancies in the Municipal Department is being looked into, with a plans of a committee to be formed to expedite up filling up of over 4000 vacancies.
“This process would be completed within three months,” Mr Mahidhar Reddy said.
He added that meanwhile efforts are on by the Department to subject the dogs to sterilization process in an effort to check the spread of their multiplication and control the dog menace.
“Efforts were also on to identify mad dogs to take suitable action for prevention of rabies disease. However pro-animal activists and bodies like Blue Cross Society etc, were against liquidating the cited dogs for various reasons,” the Minister said.
Mr Mahidhar Reddy added that the Municipal Department, though understaffed, would swing into action to take remedial measures.
He also said that the incidences of dog bites were up due to pet dogs.
“Lack of awareness among the people is also a contributor to the problem. After the dog bite the dosage through injections was discontinued by the victims, which also aggravated the situation,” the Minister stated.
As part of the scheme to contain the said disease, the Minister informed that the dogs would be also subjected to disease prevention mechanism.
“The government was keen on eradicating the disease,” Mr Mahidhar Reddy informed. “When compared to last year, the incidences this year are on downward trend,” he said.
2011/4/12 7:27:28 Narayana said that the ministers are roaming the streets in Kadapa like dogs. They all fear that they will lose their posts in Jagan wins the election.
The CPI leader Narayana likened ministers in the Kiran Kumar Reddy cabinet with dogs. Narayana said that most of the ministers are now put up in Kadapa for the by poll.
In the loose sense that is. Karan Johar’s debut hit film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai will now be seen in a different light. It will be remade but this time the outcome will be quite different. The film will be animated this time and will be directed by Karan’s assistant Tarun Mansukhani.
According to sources, the film’s name will be re-titled Kuchi Kuchi Hota Hai and the lead cast will be animated dogs. Yes, you heard it right. The animated movie will be different this time and dogs will be replacing the super-stars. The dogs will be singing and dancing in the film as well
The film will be approximately of 2 hours unlike the 3 hours of the original.
Bad news for all pet owners. The state government has decided to impose a tax on pets. The Municipal Corporation is invoking an ac of the early fifties and this will, be enforced soon.
Accordingly, the owners of dogs will soon have to pay an annual tax to keep their pets. The recent of spate of dog bites in Hyderabad are being cited as the reason. The municipal authorities are killing all stray dogs and the dog owners are being asked to obtain licenses for their pets.
2011/8/11 12:21:53 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Commissioner MT Krishna Babu on Thursday said that the Corporation will conduct Animal Birth Control / Anti Rabis (ABC/AR) monitoring committee meeting once in a month under the Chairmanship of Chief Veterinary Officer and the quarterly meeting under his chairmanship.
Participating in the ABC/AR monitoring committee meeting today, Mr Krishna Babu said that regular interaction with the Committee members will give proper feedback about the ABC/AR activities held in GHMC limits.
The GHMC Commissioner opined that there is every need for improvement of infrastructure in the veterinary hospitals and operation theatres to facilitate the staff and the dogs that are brought for operations. He instructed the NGOs to identify 10 members of good reputation, to cross check the activities of ABC/AR in GHMC.
The GHMC Commissioner felt that by involving resident welfare associations and with the public participation only the programme ABC/AR will be successful in GHMC. Commissioner requested the Blue Cross to conduct orientation programmes to the GHMC veterinary employees at regular intervals.
The representatives from Blue Cross Association and people for animals (PFA) requested Commissioner to instruct officials of GHMC veterinary section, to give proper reasons in writing for euthanizing dogs and also mention the same in their records. They also requested the Commissioner to instruct dog catchers of GHMC to not to use ropes to catch dogs and use nets instead. (INN)
2011/6/3 12:27:02 The state government has launched a two-pronged strategy to handle the increasing number of dog bite cases, by intensifying its methodology and action programme to contain the dog menace in the state, while trying to eliminated the current fear psychosis among the people on the other.
In an exclusive interview to INN, Minister for Municipal Administration M Mahidhar Reddy said that as part of these efforts, special dog squads have been pressed into service aided by specially made nets to trap the stray animal, including the rabid ones, to check the incidences of dog bites which had been frightening the common man.
Reacting to the issue, Mr Mahidhar Reddy said his department was doing its best to eliminate the current ‘fear’ psychosis which was spreading among the people.
The Minister, who showed a catalogue of photographs containing the dog squads, special nets, and the mode of the trap of the stray dogs among others, asserted that the issue was not confined to this year alone.
However, he took pains to point out the efforts and the plan of action to bring down the rabies disease being put in place by his department.
“The problem lies with the growth in the population of dogs including the pet dogs being tamed by some sections,” the Minister said. He expressed confidence that his Ministry’s efforts would bear fruit soon and the ‘exercise’ in vogue will ensure that the citizens would heave a sigh of relief soon.
Reacting to a question on the Blue Cross Society which was ever ready to take care of animals including dogs, the Minister was irked and said that the “Government is not afraid of those protecting the animals which were a cause to mount tension among the people with daily reports coming in that dogs were playing havoc with the lives of the people.”
He said he was touring all the cities to have a firsthand account of the incidences and measures being taken by the authorities concerned.
“The process to take remedial steps is on,” Mr Mahidhar Reddy said.
Further turning to the property tax collections, the Minister made it clear that a GO was issued way back not to enhance the said tax.
The GO also specified that the government was ready to act in cases where ‘misappropriation’ of funds occurred.
2007/12/3 6:35:13 All the political parties in the state are closely watching the movements of the backward party groups. Many new formations are on the horizon. The small and separate groups are coming together to assert their rights and also turn into a big force so that they will have good bargaining power during the hustling. S Ramachandra Rao, Kasani Gyaneshwar, Jayaprakash Narayan and others are busy meeting backward class groups and their leaders.
Mayawati is now serious about attracting the backwards to her party fold. She is now reportedly in contact with many senior politicians in this regard. Both chief minister Y S Rjashekar Reddy and TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu are closely watching the situation. Many disgruntled elements from their parties are now keen to join one of the new formations.
2011/9/6 11:31:27 Several animal welfare activists and leaders expressed their concern over the manner in which the animals were subjected to torture in the slaughter houses. In a meeting held at the State Secretariat to review the animal welfare activities, the veterinary doctors who were appointed to supervise the management of the said slaughter houses, were accused of being negligent.
Speaking to news persons here on Tuesday, Blue Cross Society president Amala Akkineni blamed all concerned over the torture of animals and asked the State Government to take remedial measures. She also found fault with the government for sidetracking the ‘animal welfare’ as a review on the subject has been held after a gap of five years.
Besides Amala, Animal Welfare Board of India chairman Dr Karuna, AWB's State vice president Swamy Swayamj Bhagawan and members of Gosamrakshana Samithi participated in the review meeting. (INN)
2011/5/29 1:55:03 Few months back, Chicken Gunya fever and Swine Flu epidemic caught the state by its collar and as usually the government fails to handle the matter efficiently. Several people across the state have lost their lives with these diseases that can be cured with medicines and proper treatment. Somehow, gradually both the diseases come down and there was gradual decrease in these cases.
Right now the state is bitten by stray dogs. Already some people have lost their lives with deadly Rabbis disease develops because of stray dog bite and many more are admitted in the hospitals across the state. The problem become so serious that, it goes to Chief Minister’s notice and he has to order his administration to take-up necessary steps to over come this problem.
Recently, 10 people were injured in the stray dogs attack in Vejendla village in Guntur district. All the people were rushed to near by Government hospital for treatment.
It seems, the stray dogs in the state have all of a sudden developed some irritating mood because of unknown reasons and thus biting the people. Hence, it is Government which has to react immediately and take necessary action to control the stray dogs and save the people from them. Perhaps, this is what the people expect minimum action from the Government.
2011/10/7 11:39:54 The Hyderabad City Police on Friday found the dead body of a new born female baby near on the steps of river Musi near Nayapul.
According to police, stray dogs have eaten away the abdominal part of the baby. Police was yet to establish whether the baby was abandoned by the parents while she was alive or they have kept the dead body which eaten away by the dogs. Initially, police even suspected that some stray dogs might have brought the baby from the Government Maternity Hospital. However, since no complaint of missing baby came from the hospital, this possibility was ruled out.
The Charminar police registered a case and started investigations. (INN)
2011/11/4 9:47:55 (IANS) Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan Thursday snubbed an Indian journalist, asking him to "shut up" when he asked about the map of a Chinese company showing Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Chinese territory.
TBEA, a Chinese power company, inked a memorandum of understanding for investing around $400 million in manufacturing transformers in Gujarat.
However, it was noticed that the brochure of the company showed a map of India on its front page that depicted Arunachal Pradesh as part of Chinese territory, evoking consternation among journalists.
When an Indian journalist asked the Chinese ambassador for his reaction, the envoy first said it's "a technical issue." However, when he kept on pressing him, he lost his cool and said "shut up," triggering much outrage among media there.
TBEL is part of the business delegation that Nur Bekri, governor of Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region, has brought to India to explore two-way investment opportunities.
China claims India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory. The issue is part of boundary talks between India and China.
2011/11/8 10:22:20 New Delhi, Nov 8 (IANS) A scene in Bollywood film "Love, Breakups, Zindagi", where the characters portrayed by Dia Mirza and Zayed Khan pull over to rescue a young dog sitting in the middle of the road, has won the filmmakers an award from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) India.
In the film, when no guardian appears, the couple decide to bring the dog home and treat him with affection.
The animal welfare NGO decided to award Born Free Entertainment with a Hero to Animals Award "for showing that homeless animals make wonderful additions to families," a press statement said.
"We give 'Love, Breakups, Zindagi' 'two paws up' for reminding moviegoers that India's streets are full of loving animals in need of a good home", said PETA India Chief Functionary Poorva Joshipura.
"We encourage everyone who has the time and resources to care for a dog or cat to adopt a homeless animal in need - you'll have a loving companion for the rest of his or her life," Joshipura added.
Several celebrities including Imran Khan, Trisha Krishnan and Dino Morea have urged the general public to adopt homeless dogs.
'Dasavataram' is making news everyday even though the date of release of the film is not announced.
'Dasavataram' will have the most prints ever taken for any Tamil film. The Kannada rights for the film is sold for Rs.1.85 crores.
How about Kamal's ten roles?
They will be: Ramanujar, 95 year old woman, 8 feet tall man, scientist, George Bush, trade union leader, European villain, C.B.I officer, Sardarji and a Chinese.
In all, the role of Ramanuja is very important. They say that the 8 feet tall man Kalibulla's role will also be fascinating. The roles of self defence Chinese expert and trade union leader will also be very impressive.
But the 'Dasavataram' unit has kept the details of the 95 year old woman's role under the wraps.
Notice to Gowarikar's 'Jodha-Akbar' for animal cruelty
2006/11/18 5:52:34 Famous Bollywood director Ashutosh Gowarikar's ambitious project 'Jodha-Akbar' has run into a new problem with a semi-government organisation serving notice to his production company on cruelty to animals.
''Pashu Krurta Nivaran Samiti' (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), a semi-government organisation has sent notice to Gowarikar's production company for committing cruelty against animals,' an official of animal husbandry department told IANS here Friday.
For the past fortnight, the producer has been filming a sequence for the film on various locations in and around Jaipur. The film features Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan in title roles. Over 80 elephants, 100 horses and 55 camels are being used.
The society has asked Gowarikar whether any permission was taken from the Animal Welfare Board and why he should not be tried for violation of Cruelty Against Animal Act.
'A large number of these animals were subjected to great hardships during the shooting and there was no facility of a veterinary doctor during the shooting,' said Manish Saxena, a member of the society.
He said it was mandatory to seek permission of the national board for using the animals.
Saxena said permission for such use of animals is granted on certain conditions relating to animals' welfare.
'The department of animal husbandry shall see that the issues raised by the society are addressed by the film maker,' Prabhu Lal Saini, Rajasthan's animal husbandry minister told IANS.
The film also faces resistance from the Rajputs. Karni Sena, an organisation of the Rajput community, has alleged that Gowarikar is allegedly 'tampering' with history and threatened to move court to stop filming of the film.
The Sena said it would request the state government to tell Gowarikar that he should change the title of the film and not associate the community with the film.
(IANS) Animal welfare groups in China are now challenging an ages-old tradition of eating dogs, urging people to change their "nasty habit".
Authorities in a Chinese province were forced to call off and ban a dog meat festival following public protests over the event, the Global Times reported.
Few months back, Chicken Gunya fever and Swine Flu epidemic caught the state by its collar and as usually the government fails to handle the matter efficiently. Several people across the state have lost their lives with these diseases that can be cured with medicines and proper treatment. Somehow, gradually both the diseases come down and there was gradual decrease in these cases.
(IANS) Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yan Thursday snubbed an Indian journalist, asking him to "shut up" when he asked about the map of a Chinese company showing Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Chinese territory.
