More pet
owners live in China than in any other nation on Earth,
with the exception of the United States. However, the
country's leaders have not yet created a comprehensive
policy banning animal cruelty. The few laws
that do exist deal primarily with animal
"management," but not their protection. Officials did
draft a policy to protect domestic animals back in 2009,
but never implemented it — in part because of a small,
vocal minority of regressive thinkers who stand in stark
contrast to the many pet owners in China. This small,
conservative group still dominates conversations about
animal cruelty. But tens of millions of Chinese citizens
support formalizing animal protections into
law.
In the past few
years, a number of horrific incidents of abusive, cruel
behavior towards animals have gained media attention.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a pet
corgi was beaten and killed by a worker after its owner
was placed in quarantine. A cat was found dead on a
Shanghai university campus with clear signs of abuse. In
the Anhui province, a security guard is suspected of
brutally hanging a dog to death from a tree.
But even beating and harming pets is not a clear
violations of the law. It's time for Chinese authorities
to follow the demands of the people and take these
incidents — as well as all other forms of animal abuse —
seriously! Sign the petition to
implore the Chinese government to finally pass
legislation protecting beloved pet
animals!
