A few days ago, the “Zhuhai Special Economic Zone Prohibition of Wild Animals Regulations” (“Regulations”) was announced and will come into effect on May 1 this year. On April 14, Yong Ling, the director of the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the Zhuhai Municipal People ’s Congress, interpreted the issue of whether cats and dogs can be eaten. “Although Zhuhai does not explicitly stipulate in the Regulations, cats and dogs are not included in the list. The National Catalog of Animal Genetic Resources for Animals and Poultry cannot obtain quarantine inspection procedures, so cats and dogs are prohibited from eating. ”
Zhuhai has become another city that clearly banned cat and dog meat after Shenzhen. Previously, on April 1, the new version of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Comprehensive Prohibition of Wild Animals Regulations included cats and dogs on the fasting list, and was evaluated by the media as “the first city in the Mainland to legislate against cats and dogs.”
Regarding the reasons for fasting cats and dogs, the Legal Work Committee of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress explained in the description that pets have their special feeding purposes and feeding methods, which are different from the animals for food in inspection and quarantine standards; at the same time, cats and dogs are pets To establish a closer relationship with humans than other animals, and prohibiting the consumption of pets such as cats and dogs is a common practice in many developed countries and Hong Kong, Taiwan and other regions. It is also the requirement and embodiment of modern human civilization.
Regarding the practice of fasting cat and dog meat in Shenzhen and Zhuhai, Sun Haiyang, a lawyer from Beijing Tianchi Juntai Law Firm, commented in an interview with reporters: “This has brought a new level of animal protection.”
Sun Haiyang said that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs stated in the description of the “National Catalog of Animal Genetic Resources (Draft for Comments)” (the “Catalogue”) that the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has published It has been “specialized” from traditional domestic animals to companion animals, and is generally not used as livestock and poultry in the world. China should not be included in the management of livestock and poultry.
“This is the first time that China has made companion animals for dogs in documents at the national level.” Sun Haiyang said that companion animals as legal terms are more in place than Shenzhen’s legislation that lists cats and dogs as “pets”. It shows that the relationship between animals and people is not a one-way domination, but an emotional interaction.
As to whether the cats and dogs listed as companion animals can be eaten, Sun Haiyang pointed out that in June 2015, the former State Food and Drug Administration issued the “Response Letter on Dog Slaughter Licensing and Supervision Issues” in the name of the Food Safety Office of the State Council. An Banhan [2015] No. 25), which mentions that at present the World Animal Health Organization and the vast majority of countries do not have relevant regulations or requirements for dog slaughter and quarantine; China does not yet have a clear breed of meat dogs, and dogs on the market Mainly individual free-range breeding, complex sources, and the existence of criminals such as drug theft and dogs, there is a greater potential risk of consuming dog meat; dog slaughtering and consumption of dog meat involve animal welfare and other issues, which are widely concerned at home and abroad. There will be negative effects and other reasons, so the country cannot formulate canine slaughtering regulations.
“Without slaughtering procedures, the slaughter and sale of dogs are illegal.” Sun Haiyang said.
At present, the country has made quarantine rules for the origin of animals such as cats and dogs. In November 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture issued a notice regarding the issuance of three animal origin quarantine regulations including the “Domestic Quarantine Regulations” (hereinafter referred to as “Quarantine Regulations”), which stipulated the quarantine objects, quarantine qualification standards and quarantine procedures, and Animals that have passed the quarantine inspection shall be issued the “Qualified Certificate of Animal Quarantine”, and those who are unqualified shall be issued the “Quarantine Treatment Notification”, which is prohibited from being transferred and handled in accordance with relevant regulations.
Sun Haiyang said that the “Quarantine Regulations” are mainly for the transportation of live animals, not for food. For example, taking a pet on an airplane, which is often referred to as “one dog and one certificate”, as for truck drivers carrying vehicles for slaughter Dogs are basically unable to provide this kind of proof, and “one dog and one certificate” cannot be done.