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August 02, 2006

This Makes Me Sick

So, 3 people have died of rabies in China. The obvious response then is to club 50,000 dogs to death

SHANGHAI, China - China slaughtered 50,000 dogs in a government-ordered crackdown after three people died of rabies, sparking unusually pointed criticism in state media Tuesday and an outcry from animal rights activists.

Health experts said the brutal policy pointed to deep weaknesses in the health care infrastructure in China, where only 3 percent of dogs are vaccinated against rabies and more than 2,000 people die of the disease each year.

...Dogs being walked were seized from their owners and beaten to death on the spot, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported. Led by the county police chief, killing teams entered villages at night creating noise to get dogs barking, then beat the animals to death, the reports said.

How horrible. But this is the situation they find themselves in by doing the standard PRC procedure of refusing to admit there is a problem, and thereby moving to act on it, until it gets way out of hand.

Posted by Mr. Bingley at August 2, 2006 11:01 AM

Comments

Typical government solution when the government has unfettered power.

Posted by: Mike Rentner at August 2, 2006 02:42 PM

What a waste. Aren't they starving in North Korea?


sorry ...you may delete now.

Posted by: Xenu's moonface assassin of joy at August 2, 2006 06:06 PM

(I was thinking 'pound puppies', but then I'm a drunk. And didn't mean it.)

Posted by: Even Covered in Mustard Bingley Couldn't Tempt the Most Desperate of New Orleans Cannibals to Bite at August 2, 2006 07:05 PM

Just wait till they find out cats can also carry rabies... (sigh) - not to mention a whole lot of other non-pet-type animals...

Posted by: Kathy K at August 2, 2006 08:53 PM

Not a big shock; they don't respect human lives or human rights, so why should dogs get a pass?

Posted by: Nightfly at August 2, 2006 11:07 PM

They're just following the old PRC formula; when a problem actually comes to the governments' attention, kill a lot of whatever might be causing it.

Posted by: Firehand at August 5, 2006 04:49 AM