Beijing to ban animals on public transportation

Beijing government announced on Tuesday that it plans to ban animals on public transportation, a new rule that has triggered a heated debate among local pet lovers. 

The Legal Affairs Office of Beijing Municipality on Tuesday resealed a new draft of the Animal Epidemic Prevention Regulation on its official website in order to solicit public opinions.

Pets, including dogs, cats and birds, will be prohibited from entering public transportation. The same rule also applies to farm animals such as chickens or ducks.

The draft tightens the regulation on mandatory vaccination of canines in order to prevent the transmission of animal epidemics that may adapt to humans. The regulation requests dogs that have been vaccinated against rabies and other diseases to wear immunity marks while outdoors to differentiate from those who might carry the rabies virus. 

The bodies of animals that died of unknown causes and diseases and all other animal products that may cause transmission of epidemics must be treated in a pollution-free way, reads the new draft regulation.

"The government should consider the interest of our vulnerable people. Guide dogs are necessary in our lives," Ping Yali, China's first ever Paralympic gold medalist at the 7th Paralympic Games in New York in 1984, told the Global Times.

Ping, an visually impaired athlete, depends heavily on her guide dog for her daily life.

"Actually, the State Council released the Barrier Free Environment Construction Regulations, which went into effect last August. The regulation clearly stated that staff working in public places shall supply unimpeded access for visually impaired people with their guide dogs," she said. 

This draft is part of a bill which was submitted to the bi-monthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for discussion between Wednesday and Saturday.