Fw: (CN) Muted pooches skirt law in China - Surgery stifles barking, averts police, licensing

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June 6, 2002

http://www.freep.com/news/nw/wdogs6_20020606.htm

 

BY MICHAEL DORGAN

FREE PRESS FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

 

GUANGZHOU, China -- For many dogs in this southeastern city, it cannot be

said that their barks are worse than their bites.

 

They belong to a surging population of muted pooches that either cannot bark

at all or only at diminished volume. That's because their owners have had

their vocal cords cut to keep them from disturbing the neighbors and

attracting the police.

 

Dog ownership is booming across China because people increasingly regard

dogs as pets rather than food. Many restaurants in China still serve dog

meat, but they soon may be outnumbered by pet shops.

 

Bark-prevention surgery has become common in many Chinese cities, in part

because many dogs are kept illegally to avoid high license fees. But

Guangzhou may have more silent dogs than anywhere else in China, experts

say, because it is one of the most densely populated cities, as well as one

of the most expensive when it comes to keeping canines.

 

A legal dog in this part of China is a rich person's pet.

 

Owners must first buy a license for $1,220, and then pay an annual fee of

$732. The combined cost of the license and fee is more than a resident's

average annual income of $1,703.

 

Tony Wong is owner of a pet store that is one of about 10 facilities in

Guangzhou that performs the vocal-cord surgeries. He said about half of the

dog owners who order the procedure do so because their dogs are not

licensed.

 

If barking by an unlicensed dog caused a neighbor to call the police, he

explained, the owner would lose the pet or be forced to buy a license.

 

Even owners of licensed dogs must be careful to not annoy neighbors, Wong

said, because police can revoke a dog's license if it disturbs nearby

residents.

 

" The police are vigilant and the number of surgeries is increasing, " he

said.

 

Some animal rights activists condemn the procedure as cruel.

 

" Dogs bark in order to inform their owners of potential danger -- it's

inherent to the character of dogs, " said Chai Yue, a staff member of the

Beijing Small Animals Protection Association.

 

" But after they've lost their vocal cords, dogs can't bark and they become

very depressed and feel shameful, " she said. " Muting the dogs exploits the

rights of dogs. "

 

Qiu Rixin, whose licensed 10-month-old Pomeranian underwent the surgery,

does not agree. He said his puppy suffered only a brief period of

post-surgical discomfort, during which it ate more slowly than normal.

 

" Now everything is fine with my dog, " he said.

 

Wong also disputes that the surgery is cruel and causes permanent harm to

the dogs. He said his shop, the Guo Feng Trading Co., has imported special

equipment from Germany that allows surgeons to snip the vocal cords by

entering the dog's mouth rather than by cutting through its neck, the

procedure most facilities follow.

 

Because most Chinese families are permitted to have only one child, many

parents buy a puppy as a companion for their only son or daughter. Others

have come to regard a pet dog as a status symbol, according to Wong's wife

Joanna Mai.