By China to reclassify dogs as pets instead of livestock due to Covid-19
China has drawn up new guidelines which reclassify dogs as pets, rather than livestock, in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The virus is thought to have been transferred from a horseshoe bat to a human at a live animal market Wuhan, China, but has since spread across the world.
China subsequently banned the breeding, trading and consumption of wildlife, and revoked all existing licenses, promising to make the ban permanent.
Dogs are considered a delicacy in many parts of the country, where livestock refers to animals that are bred to provide food, milk, fur, fibre or medicine, or, animals that serve in the military.
But, this week China’s ministry of agriculture has said:
“As far as dogs are concerned, along with the progress of human civilisation and the public concern and love for animal protection, dogs have been specialised to become companion animals, and internationally are not considered to be livestock, and they will not be regulated as livestock in China.”
Animal welfare charity Humane Society International estimates that around 10 million dogs are killed in China for meat every year.
The city of Yulin holds an annual dog meat festival in June. Other Chinese cities have already begun to ban the practice.
In addition to China’s new legislation which reclassifies dogs as pets instead of livestock, the draft guidelines which have been released listed some 18 traditional livestock species as being fit for consumption. These include cattle, pigs, poultry and camels.
China has now ended coronavirus lockdown measures in Wuhan, 11 weeks after it became the epicentre of what has since developed into a global crisis.
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