China orders second slaughter of dogs

Chinese authorities in Jining have ordered a slaughter of dogs for the second time in days in response to a rabies outbreak, the Xinhua News Agency said Friday.

Animal lovers were outraged by the campaign blaming the government for its incompetence in handling the spread of rabies.


A security guard holds onto a dog as a ten-day capture of stray dogs is carried out in Fuzhou, east China's Fujian province August 1, 2006. Picture taken August 1, 2006. CHINA OUT REUTERS/Kong Nong via Yahoo News.

"I think this is completely insane," said Zhang Luping, founder of the Beijing Human and Animal Environmental Education Center. "What's more, this really damages our national image and sets a really bad example to show how lazy and inconsiderate those local government officials are."

In Yunnan last week, 50,000 dogs were killed, many beaten to death in front of their owners, after three people died of rabies.

Animal rights groups have called for a boycott of Chinese goods in response to the mass slaughter.