The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
has offered to pay for effective rabies control
programs in China conditional upon the government's termination of its mass dog killing programs.
Offering $100,000 to the government of China, the offer comes in response to the clubbing and killing of 50,000 dogs in the Yunnan Province.
Rabies cases are on the rise in China, with more than 2,000 people dying from the disease each year. Only 3 per cent of the country's dogs are vaccinated against rabies.
The World Health Organization has stated that indiscriminate mass killing is not a means of effective animal control, and instead emphasizes the need for vaccination programs.
Overpopulation in the Yunnan Province's urban areas means stray dogs are a
prolific problem.
The HSUS sharply criticized the killings in a letter to Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong last week, and this week offered the organization's help to develop a more effective and humane response to rabies cases.
"There are far better ways of addressing rabies control to promote the safety of your citizens, the good reputation of China and the welfare of the dogs," Pacelle wrote.
The HSUS is making this offer contingent on having "the full co-operation of the relevant national and local authorities in China and Jining City and an understanding that mass and indiscriminate dog killing programs will be terminated immediately," Pacelle said.
