“The vertebrae, the left front leg, and many bite wounds” Wang Ming, a volunteer at the Dalian Nature Conservation Center, recalled that the voice was still heavy when she saw her deer in the early hours of May 27th. The deer fell from a wall a few metres high and eventually died of his injuries, following the frenzy of stray dogs. The blood on its body is the latest footnote to the recent tragedy of the stray dog-hunting deer.
The wild plum deer population, which lives at the highest latitude in the country and is the only one living in the urban environment, is known as the “city elf” and is a symbol of the harmony of human life with nature. In recent years, however, a disharmony has broken the peace of the mountains — the cries of stray dogs and the desperate run of the deer of clubs.
“This is by no means an isolated incident”, Wang said Wang Ming to journalists, “We received reports of at least five attacks on the deer by stray dogs last winter. The herds form a sphere of influence in the mountains, and they disturb, chase, or even directly attack, tore off the deer.” This “hunting” behaviour, which should not have occurred in nature, stems from the group hunting instincts formed by stray dogs in the process of wildlife. They are numerous and agile, and they pose a deadly threat to relatively gentle, especially young, young and old.
The continued intrusion of stray dogs is forcing some of the melon communities to make difficult choices — to leave relatively safe habitats and venture into densely populated urban areas. The staff of Dalian Nature Conservation Centre stated that “in order to avoid attacks from the dog herds, a number of herds were forced to move down the hill to the neighbourhood”. The consequences of this unnatural migration are twofold:
The urban environment is not an ideal home for a melon deer, there is a shortage of food sources, hidden places, and there is a sharp increase in pressure for survival.
The danger of a deer conflict: a plum deer entering the city is highly vulnerable to traffic accidents (the most recent reference in this section to protection stations is the car accident of a deer) and may be greenened by feeding or causing panic among the population. The “city elves”, which symbolized harmony, were in an awkward and dangerous situation.
In the face of ever-increasing problems, the existing regulatory mechanisms seemed inadequate. The staff of the wildlife protection station in Dalian City said, “If a barley deer is injured, we can be contacted for help. But in cases where stray dogs disturb the deer of clubs, stray dogs are not in the hands of our forestry department.” This directly points to the painful point of governance — a lack of accountability and a management vacuum.
Although local government authorities have organized arrests of stray dogs, volunteers and professionals have generally commented that “the results are not clear”. Reasons:
The root causes remain: capture operations are often ad hoc, difficult to sustain and do not effectively control the source of stray dogs (e.g. abandonment, uncontrolled reproduction).
The complexity of the terrain: The vast range of mountain environments and the complexity of the terrain pose enormous difficulties for precision capture.
Lack of long-term mechanisms: Normalization, scientificization, systematic institutionalization, management, sterilization and adoption of homeless animals, particularly groups that pose a threat to wildlife. According to the estimates of the relevant animal protection organizations, the number of stray dogs in the country is huge and scientific management and humanitarian control are universal challenges.
The conflict between the barley deer and the stray dog in Dalian is by no means confined. As the urbanization process accelerates, the boundaries of wildlife habitats and human areas become increasingly blurred, and the complexity and contradictions of the “human-vagrant animals-width” relationship are manifested in many parts of the country. For example, the threat posed by stray cats to native bird populations has also been reported around some cities. This warns us:
Urban ecosystems are also vulnerable: even more resilient species, such as stellar deer, are highly vulnerable to external pressures such as invasive homeless animals.
The problem of homeless animals has ecological spillovers: it is not only urban management, animal welfare, but also biodiversity conservation. Out of control vagrants can become invasive species that disrupt the balance of local ecological chains.
To break this dilemma and protect the precious urban melon stock, there is an urgent need to break down sectoral barriers and establish mechanisms for coordinated governance that are multisectoral and socially inclusive:
Clear lead, working together: it is recommended that a central lead sector (e.g. urban management, rural agriculture) be integrated at the municipal level, that a multi-stakeholder effort be coordinated in forestry (width conservation), public security, street communities, etc., and that a special joint action programme be developed. The forestry sector provides regional information on deer activities in plums, urban management/public security is responsible for the capture of stray dogs, community assistance in advocacy and source management.
Scientific Humanities, Source Control: The TNR project is implemented in priority areas (measuring-sterilisation-release/adoption) and is the most humane and effective internationally accepted method of controlling the number of homeless animals, which requires government purchase of services or funding of professional incentive organizations. At the same time, legislation on pet management has been strengthened to enforce the law, severely punish abandonment, promote sterilization and chip implantation and reduce the generation of stray animals from their sources.
Technical empowerment, precision monitoring: use of technical means such as infrared cameras, drones, etc., to enhance monitoring of the dynamics of the plum deer population and the range of stray dog population activities, providing data support for precision interventions.
Public Participation, Shared Governance: Strengthen public awareness and education on the concept of scientific feeding (avoiding random feeding in the wild to attract a gathering of homeless animals), report abandonment, and support adoption in lieu of purchase. Volunteers are encouraged to participate in monitoring and advocacy under professional guidance.
Explore ecological buffer zones: between wildlife habitats and urban areas, assess the possibility of setting up ecological buffer zones, reduce drifting animals ' access to core habitats through rational vegetation allocation and management, and also provide safer transition space for melon deer.
Professor Zhang, Wildlife Research Institute, Beijing Forestry University, stated: “The Dalian deer incident is a typical microcosm of `human-animal-urban' conflict. The solution lies in recognizing the holistic nature of urban ecosystems. The protection of the deer of clubs is not only a species, but also a necessary measure to preserve urban biodiversity and ecological security. This requires a shift in management thinking from `one-size-fits-all' to `ecosystem management'.”
According to the 2023 Survey of the Status of Vagrant Animals in China, stray dogs that hurt people, spread disease and the potential impact on the ecological environment have become a point of pain that cannot be ignored in urban management, with over 30 per cent of the cities visited reporting wildlife conflicts caused by stray animals.
The dead deer on the Lian Mountain, in the worst way, has exposed the ecological scars behind the prosperity of the city. The tragedy of stray dogs hunting the deer of clubs, questioning the level of finely managed cities and alerting people to the fragile borders of living in harmony with nature. When the “city elves” cry on the edge of steel and cement, can we break down the sectoral fence and govern them with scientific and humane cooperation, and for our own sake, preserve the last wild poetry of the land? This is not just a salvation for a group of deer, but a defence to the ecological bottom line of city civilization. To guard the deer of clubs is to protect our common urban home and the fine light that man and nature should have.