Just as Chinese authorities have been declaring that dog is now off the menu, a Nanjing man has been caught on video brutally murdering a neighbour’s canine companion.
Last Wednesday, 8 April, China’s Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs released its updated list of animals that are permitted to be raised as livestock. For the very first time, dogs have been omitted. The Ministry referred to dogs as a “special companion animal”.
As such, the long tradition of eating dog meat in China may soon be coming to an end. Good news for animal rights campaigners everywhere but it comes too late for Logan, beloved pet of a Mr. Zhu, living in Nanjing’s “Suo Jin San Cun” compound near Xuanwu Lake.
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Zhu came across Logan’s remains at the base of a tree within his compound after he went missing on 22 March, following Zhu taking him for a walk at 7.30pm. Logan himself had been rescued by Zhu who found him abandoned in a cardboard box as a puppy.
Caught red handed on surveillance cameras within the compound was a Mr. Gao, who was seen hitting Logan with a hammer and afterward carrying the canine’s corpse.
Nearby residents commented that Gao had collected many stray dogs, and assumed that he was selling them off in private as meat.
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Given that the murder took place prior to the new draft legislation’s release, the crime is still technically categorised as theft. Gao received two fines for his misdemeanour, one of ¥500 and another of ¥1,000, reported The Paper yesterday.
The new legislation released by the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs mentions 18 animals defined as “traditional” livestock and poultry. RadiiChina reports the list includes cattle, chickens, rabbits, water buffalo, camels, reindeer, ostriches and alpacas, but neither dogs nor cats.
Speaking as to the new draft with the UK’s Guardian newspaper, Wendy Higgins of Humane Society International said, “That signals a major shift, recognising that most people in China don’t eat dogs and cats and want an end to the theft of their companion animals for a meat trade that only a small percentage of the population indulge in”.
The draft is open open to public consultation until May 8.
