Controversies over fun- or profit-driven abuse or killing of small animals (often cats and dogs) have become a regular affair. Recently, netizens exposed two such cases. The first was the brutal treatment of a dog that caused its death, although some kind-hearted passersby tried to save it by taking it to a pet clinic. The other is the "imminent" slaughter of up to 10,000 dogs in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, to celebrate the dog meat-eating festival on summer solstice, which falls on June 21 this year.

Animal activists have appealed to the authorities to ban such festivals and organized some dog rescue campaigns to protest against animal abuse.

Perhaps the problem is the absence of a specific law against transportation of dogs for slaughter or selling of dog meat. Adding to the problem are local customs of eating dog meat on special occasions. This has emboldened people who deal in dogs and dog meat to carry on their trade with alacrity. The result: apart from the dogs reared for slaughter, stolen pets and stray dogs also end up under the butcher's knife. It is thus impractical to expect civil animal protection groups and animal lovers, which are powerless anyway, to end dog stealing.

The only legal document on animal protection is the Law on the Protection of Wildlife. But it is directed against illegal activities such as smuggling, hunting, trapping and killing of wild animals, and dogs, except for a few species, are not wild animals. Unfortunately, the long-expected law on the protection of small animals is still in the proposal stage.

Therefore, the authorities have to issue a specific law or regulation as soon as possible for the effective protection of small animals. The law or regulation should stipulate strict punishment for people who abuse or kill animals, or buy or sell them illegally.

The WWF slogan, "When the buying stops, the killing can too", is frequently flashed across TV screens and newspapers, and although it is aimed at the protection of endangered species such as tigers, rhinos, elephants and sharks, it is also applicable to small animals.

In March, some animal activists and volunteers launched an operation in Chongqing to rescue dogs, and sent the rescued animals to centers in Chongqing and Kunming, Yunnan province. Providing permanent shelter to rescued animals, however, remains a problem.

On a visit to an animal shelter, run by some animal lovers, in the suburb of Shenyang, Liaoning province, I was surprised to see hundreds of stray and abandoned pet cats and dogs sharing space with some wild animals like monkeys, foxes and one raccoon that had been abandoned by zoos after being injured. After talking with the staff there, I realized the place was like a big money-consuming machine. Just to provide enough food to the animals, the animal lovers' group needs the support of the local authorities, individual donors and pet lovers. I also realized that if the animals were not properly cared for, the vicious circle of rescue, release, recapture, reselling would continue.

In this regard, some of the suggestions made by the World Society for the Protection of Animals and the World Health Organization in the early 1990s are still relevant. For example, apart from promulgating practical laws and regulations, the authorities should have an accurate count of stray small animals to determine the scale of official animal protection. They should also know that stray dogs and cats have not only to be neutered, but also provided enough food on a regular basis after being released to prevent health hazards and human-animal conflicts.

Besides, pets should be registered and labeled to ensure their owners don't abandon them. The Hong Kong Legislative Council went a step further in 1999 by expanding the scope of a 1950s regulation, which bans the sale of cat and dog meat, to include specific pet keeping rules.

Finally, the authorities also have to launch an intense animal protection campaign and encourage people to work with officials and civil animal protection centers to create a safer environment for small animals.

The author is a writer with China Daily.

E-mail: xiaolixin@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily USA 06/21/2013 page16)