In recent days, a crowd of people entering the villages to kill dogs in the village of Uysan, Hunan Ludy city, has called into question villagers and netizens. On 10 August, the local police station stated to journalists that the killing of the dog had been organized by the commune government, as the local population had been bitten by dogs and had died. According to the Government, the previous campaign had been conducted in the villages to keep their own dogs locked and chained, and most recently to kill stray dogs without ties.
On 9 August, a number of residents of the Vishan village of Shiniji district reported that a crowd of people came to the village with tools to beat up dogs: “Whatever is in the home, or in their own fields, they caught dogs and killed more than a dozen dogs a day.
A surveillance video released by netizens revealed that in front of a house of villagers, several men suddenly hit an unarmed pup with a stick, crying and running, and being chased and beaten again and not moving. In the video, the car contained the body of a dozen dogs.
This has triggered a lot of debate. It has been argued that these scattered dogs may bite people and destroy them; more netizens have indicated that rural dogs are meant to look after their homes, are generally not tied to ropes like those in the city, and do not have to be treated strictly by the city's standards, and it is too cruel to go to the door and kill them.
On 10 August, journalists contacted the Vishan police station, where staff stated that the beating of dogs was organized by the commune government. During the previous period, a dog-beating operation had been launched following incidents where people had been bitten and killed by dogs.
Government officials in Weishan stated to journalists that there had been dog injuries, and that people were vulnerable to rabies after being bitten by dogs, and decided to kill rural stray dogs. “We have been campaigning in villages to keep our own dogs locked and tied, and recently we have killed dogs without rope.” The staff member also stated that the beating was based on the relevant policy document, but did not reveal which department had issued the document.
The staff of the AIDS Control Centre of the Nueva Counties stated that the killing of dogs in Vishan village was linked to the fact that people in the area had been bitten by dogs and had not been vaccinated. However, the District CDC did not issue the relevant documentation for the beating of dogs.
Staff of the Public Security Directorate of the Sinji district also indicated that they had not issued documents relating to dog-beating, and that the police station had only been instrumental in the dog-beating operation.