The one-dog policy (一犬一户 Yī quǎn yī hù) is a policy implemented in 2006, restricting residents of Beijing, China to one dog per family. It also prohibits families from raising large (over 14 in or 35.5 cm tall) or ferocious dogs. Effective from May 2011, a similar policy was planned for Shanghai.
The one-dog policy was implemented in 2006, when it became apparent that rabies was the infectious disease killing the most people in that year.[clarification needed] Xinhua News Agency, the official news agency, said that rabies had killed 318 people in September 2006 and 2,651 people in 2004, the latest year for which data is available. Only 3% of dogs in China are vaccinated, while 69,000 people sought treatment for rabies in 2005 in Beijing alone.
The policy sets a legal limit for dog height at 14 inches (35.5 cm) and restricts every family to one dog as a maximum. Dogs are not allowed to be abandoned, and owners cannot take their dogs to public places such as markets, parks and sightseeing areas.
The policy has caused small protests (such as one outside the Beijing Zoo which was composed of 200 protesters). The fines for keeping more than one dog or an oversized dog are about US$650.
The policy has also prompted mixed reactions from animal rights groups, with the Humane Society of the United States criticizing the policy and PETA supporting it.
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