Almost 5,000 dogs killed in Chinese anti-rabies campaign

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/07/dogs-killed-china-rabies

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Chinese authorities killed almost 5,000 dogs in one city after blaming five human deaths on rabies, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

In Baoshan, south-western Yunnan province, 4,900 dogs were killed and a further 100,000 vaccinated in the city's anti-rabies campaign, Xinhua said. An urgent order was issued in the city calling for authorities to tightly regulate dogs and kill any stray creatures.

Chinese governments often order such widespread dog culls or ban dog ownership to control the spread of rabies. The moves has prompted an outcry from some dog owners and animal rights activists who call for sterilising and vaccinating dogs rather than culling them.

In 2009, authorities in the northern city of Hanzhong reportedly killed about 37,000 dogs after a rabies outbreak.