China is drafting its first animal protection law and it will be submitted to the State Council by the end of this year, reported the state media China Daily.
The law prohibits such cruelties as abusing and abandoning pets, and serious violators would be fined up to 6,000 yuan (US$ 877.5) or end up in two-week detention.
The draft, which was initiated by legal experts from the China University of Political Science and Law, Wuhan University, Northwest University and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last December, includes two parts –– protection of wild animals and domestic animals.
Five Freedoms, including freedom from pain and discomfort, will form the basis of legal considerations, according to Grace Gabriel, Asia regional director of International Fund for Animal Welfare(IFAW), the Yarmouth Port, MA-based animal welfare charity.
The Chinese government began to study the issue of animal welfare in 1997, when the EU was discussing a ban on animal tests used in cosmetics and personal care products.
"As a relatively new participant in the area, China has been trying to catch up with the latest development in the world and we have seen great changes as a result of the efforts," said Gao Cheng, director of Office of Shanghai Administrative Committee of Laboratory Animals, a division of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality(STCSM).
Indeed, compared with the response in the U.S., where President Obama’s fatal swat on a fly led to numerous public debates, the Chinese public’s response to animal cruelty is much milder.
"The animal welfare situation in China is grim on three levels, policy, law and public view," said IFAW’s Gabriel.
Last month, over 30,000 dogs were executed in Hanzhou, Shanxi province because of the outbreak of rabies. The massacre videos uploaded to the YouTube have triggered tons of global criticisms of the Chinese government, including strong condemnation from IFAW and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights observer based in Norfolk,VA.
"Completing the draft is only a tiny step. There are still so many challenges to get this law passed and implemented," said Gabriel.
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