One Dog Per Family in China

Beginning July 1, the city of Guangzhou in southern China will have a new policy with regard to raising dogs: one dog per family. Like the one child law, there is no negotiating the terms. Those families that currently have more than one dog are going to have to find homes for their extra pooches come the first of next month and many are not too thrilled with the decree.

"It's a cruel regulation. These dogs are like family. How can you keep one and get rid of the others," a Chinese woman who declined to use her real name told the Associated Press.

Many speculate that the origin of the new law is the tendency for stray dogs to roam the streets, especially in Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton. This city is one of the richest in China and the growing middle class is fond of raising dogs. Many do not bother to have their pets spayed or neutered and the result is a growing population of stray dogs. Guangzhou is host to the Asian Games next year and less dogs also means cleaner sidewalks.

This policy is already in effect in other cities in China including Beijing and is said to help control rabies outbreaks that also are common in China. Meanwhile for those who already have two dogs, the thought of doing away with one is often too much to bear.

The anonymous Chinese woman has already thought of one loophole: to register one of her dogs with her parents. "In China we have a saying. When the people at the top male a policy, the people at the bottom find a way to get around it," she said.