Weirdness: Chinese City Enacts Policy to Ban and Confiscate Tall Dogs

The city government of Harbin China has passed legislation to ban tall dogs. They have even published a list of dog breeds that have now become illegal.

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Tibetan Mastiff, Pit Bull Terrier、Dogo Argentino、Fila Brasileiro、Tosa Inu、Central Asia Shepherd Dog、Chinese Chongqing Dog、Borzoi、German Shepherd、Bulldog、Mastiff、Cane Corso、Great Dane、Caucasian Shepherd Dog、Neapolitan Mastiff、Staffordshire Bull Terrier、Afghan Hound、Pointer、Weimaraner、Blood Hound、Basenji、olde english Bulldog、Japanese Akita、Newfoundland、Kerry Blue Terrier、Chinese Rural Dog、Chinese Mountain Red Dog、Chinese kunmin、Doberman Pinscher、BelgianSheepdog、Rottweiler、Dalmatian Breed Standard、SaintBernard、Great Pyrenees、Old English Sheepdog、IrishWolfhound、Saluki、Italian Greyhound、Australian Shepherd、Bouvierdes Flandres、Keeshoud、Border Terrier、Alaskan Malamute、Siberian Husky、Golden Retriever、Chow Chow、Samoyed、Labrador Retriever、Setter.
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Even more bizarre is that if you currently have one of these breeds of dogs, it will be confiscated and put to death. Interestingly, I didn’t know that China, along with its One Child Policy, also has a One Dog Policy.

At any rate, as of Friday, 5,000 people have signed an online petition to stop the absurdity and locals in Harbin have been out in force as seen in the photo below. Change.org has the petition in English and Chinese if you want to get involved.

It reads:

To Whom It May Concern, 致有關人士

We the undersigned urge you not to enforce the upcoming policy where dogs over a certain height will have to be given up by their owners.
Dog owners face the unenviable task of giving up their beloved pets simply because they aren’t an acceptable size.

This policy is cruel, heartless and ineffective, and paints the government in a very poor light. We ask that you let the larger dogs live out their lives naturally with their owners.

Protests in Harbin have taken place where owners cried publicly to show how hurt and upset they are about this and people around the world want this policy to be overturned. While the Harbin government is busy with a large full-media campaign intended for Harbin’s 2012 visits to its international sister cities to mark the official launch of Harbin’s tourism promotion campaign, bringing a law in to ban specific breeds does not promote Harbin’s tolerance for pet owners very well to the rest of the world. Please cancel the height restrictions on dogs in Harbin.

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I think it is safe to say that Harbin needs a petition recalling idiot legislators.