A new law that prohibits Shanghai residents from owning more than a single dog may have more bark than bite. Shanghai published a new set of pet ownership rules May 15, including a stipulation that each household would be limited to a single dog. The rule sparked a howl of parallels to China’s one-child policy, the now 30-year-old intrusion into personal lives that has slowed population growth but also led to concerns over human rights and the future supply of workers. The fact that authorities feel a need to pinch the pooch population isn’t all bad. According to the Shanghai Daily, the government believes there are some 750,000 pet dogs in the city of 20 million people, a fact that might help correct the impression that China is a nation where dogs are only either found on menus or executed for being disease carriers . And with some estimates putting the cost of raising pet dogs in the tens of thousands of dollars , the existence of so many of them in the city could also be read as a positive sign of growing household wealth. Jokes aside, one fact puts a leash on the narrative that authorities are simply applying the single-child policy to canines. The one-dog edict has actually been on the books in Shanghai at least since 1993 and restated in subsequent campaigns, for instance against rabies . One-dog rules have also been adopted in the past five years across China, including the cities of Beijing, Chengdu and Guangzhou. Indeed, the thrust of Shanghai’s new policy appears to be a 75% reduction in fees to register a pet dog, to 500 yuan, about $77, from 2,000 yuan. suggesting the basis for the city’s effort is to get more than the current 20% of the dog population registered. The cost for registration gets cut in half if a dog is neutered. Emerging from an animal hospital this week with her Chihuahua, 66-year-old Kang Qingju said the fee cut was “good news” that finally compelled her have the 18-month-old dog vaccinated and made “legal.” Local newspapers in recent days suggested Ms. Kang wasn’t alone in her rush to get the shots and required identification microchips . Zhu Weifen, a veterinarian at Shanghai Aibei Veterinary Hospital, said she was busy vaccinating dogs over the weekend so they can be registered with the police. “People are more willing to pay that sum of money to secure their dog’s safety,” said the animal doctor. Whether owners of multiple dogs in Shanghai can expect to face the wrath of the law remains an open question. The rules don’t apply retroactively and dog owners say there are simple workarounds to owning a kennel of hounds, for instance using multiple addresses for licensing. “There’s always been something called a one-dog edict here in Shanghai,” say Lee-Anne Armstrong (EDS: CQ name), foster care director at Second Chance Animal Aid Shanghai (http://www.scaashanghai.org/), an agency which nevertheless now intends to deny second adoptions rather than simply discourage them as in the past. Ms. Armstrong applauded official efforts to modernize the system: “The spirit is that owners will be held responsible, not that dogs are a nuisance,” she said. The new law also includes requirements to leash dogs and pick up after them, while outlawing abandonment and cruelty to pets. “Several parts of this law are in the right direction,” she said. How much appetite the government will have for enforcing the single-dog rule is an open question. The job falls to Shanghai’s police department, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Shanghai authorities set up a website ( in Chinese ) with information about their new policies and outreach services. A government spokesman referred further questions to a local National People’s Congress statement, which quoted an official named Hong Kemin as saying the penalty for unregistered, unvaccinated dogs after May 15 would be as high as 1,000 yuan . Still, over the years, numerous tough-sounding Shanghai edicts have quickly lost their oomph, from the almost yearly bans on cigarette smoking (see here , here and here ) to “wars” on jaywalking and horn honking . The question many dog owners have now is where the money raised will be going. Out walking his small Pomeranian this week, Dong Changfu, a 71-year-old retiree, was among the doubters. “My dog is small and harmless,” he said. “No one has ever complained about her. I clean her waste and she never barks or bites people. I don’t care about the registration. It’s just the government’s trick to get more people spend more money. ” Mark Ma, the 29-year-old owner of a Shetland sheepdog, welcomed the push toward licensing but said he hopes fee revenue will be allocated toward making life better for pets in the city. “For example, they could expand dog-friendly areas, so that dogs could play there without interfering with people,” Mr. Ma said. – James T. Areddy and Yang Jie. Follow James on Twitter @jamestareddy
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Shanghai’s One-Dog Policy More Bark Than Bite
