TAYLOR: At a sprawling showground on the edge of Beijing, thousands of pet dealers and owners have come to market. Not so long ago Communist China scorned dog ownership, linking it with the ruling class and the decadent lifestyles of the bourgeoisie.
No more – the dog is back.
The market for pets and pet related products in China now exceeds 2 billion dollars a year. Each year in the Chinese zodiac, another animal is celebrated. In 2006, it’s the canine’s turn.
In this Year of the Dog, man’s best friend has been rehabilitated and brought in from the cold. China’s growing middle class has embraced the canine as a symbol of affluence and modernity but for many animals here, it’s still a dog’s life of suffering and pain.
Gao Bo and his wife Wang Lixin are “Chuppies” – young, Chinese and upwardly mobile. They enjoy the trappings of middle class success, a spacious new apartment, well paying jobs, nice clothes and to round off their ideal lives, a lap dog and two larger friends that spend hours each day in a tiny cage.
MRS WANG: When I get back home thinking of three little creatures waiting for me, the feeling is fantastic.
TAYLOR: The couple don’t want a child right now but they’ve always wanted pet dogs. Now they can afford them. By law they’re allowed only one dog in their apartment but they sneak in two more by claiming they live at their respective parent’s homes.
MR GAO: In the past, to be honest the living standard in China wasn’t very high. If you had a dog, how could you look after it?
TAYLOR: Their young Border Collie Summer comes from Australia and was imported for vastly much more than many Chinese earn in a year but the star of the trio is Shetland Sheepdog, Chocolate. He’s in training for dog competitions and the lounge room doubles as practice ground. The dogs are so important they all recently had to move home.
MRS WANG: It was for them that we bought this new house because we wanted them to have more space to exercise. Our old house is smaller than this one.
TAYLOR: The dogs are surrogate children. For millions of mandatory one child families in China, dogs are a welcome extra companion lavished with attention. Xiang Xiang has an extensive wardrobe and an outfit for every occasion.
Just as dogs are snapped up for pets, they’re also disposed of. On the outskirts of Beijing Zhang Luping runs a centre for abandoned and abused animals. Not so long ago places like this didn’t exist. Today it’s home for 400 former pets.
ZHANG LU PING: They were abandoned there because they were sick, and I collected them. Some were thrown over the gate of our centre, which is very high – and had their legs broken.
TAYLOR: Zhang Lu Ping says that historically most Chinese have been very hard on dogs. There sole purpose was to guard the farm. Anywhere else they were pests not pets. Such “old thinking” is disappearing but she complains that many new owners view dogs as toys. Toys are easily tossed aside.
Mao Mao is coming in from the cold. He’s an abandoned dog on his second chance. He was abused and living in an animal shelter when He Ping and her husband decided to bring him home.
HE PING: There are photos posted outside the gate of the pet hospital. My husband fell in love with him at first sight.
TAYLOR: They’re a poor family with a simple apartment but in Beijing pet ownership is not limited to the wealthy.
HE PING: [Talking to the dog] Mao Mao, what’s wrong with you today? Being silly?
TAYLOR: The cost of keeping Mao Mao takes a big bite out of the family’s small income. It’s the price they willingly pay for company. The Chinese word for pet literally translates to “spoiled animal”. Mrs He calls Mao Mao her second son and Mao Mao is top dog to their teenage boy.
HE PING: We do look after him when it’s necessary but we think our little son suffered a lot before, so we should love him more. Our elder son gets used to it and doesn’t complain any more.
TAYLOR: Their real son, Zhao Lei, accepts the situation.
ZHAO LEI: I don’t know how my friends look at this. I simply take him as my younger brother.
TAYLOR: During the Cultural Revolution, police killed dogs on sight. They were considered the playthings of the rich and powerful. Authorities are slowly shaking off their anti-pet sentiments and accepting that dogs are here to stay. Beijing recently slashed registration costs and annual fees. Today the Dog Squad is out patrolling for unregistered animals.
POLICEMAN: [To woman] I hope next time you’ll bring the dog licence when you’re out with your dog.
TAYLOR: [Policing talking to man carrying a dog] This man doesn’t have a licence or a lead. He’ll need to pay a fine to get the dog back. There are still tight restrictions on everything from the importation of breeds to the size of dogs allowed in certain areas.
POLICEMAN DENG XIANGYANG: In this city it’s forbidden to have dogs in hospitals or teaching and dormitory areas in schools.
TAYLOR: There’s good reason for this tough approach to dogs on the streets.
GANG MAI DAO: [To doctor] When I was just about to go in the door, the dog saw me. So I didn’t dare enter, and turned around to avoid him. But he ran after me and bit me on the lower part of my legs.
TAYLOR: Just in Beijing as many as six thousand people are attacked by dogs every month. Rabies is China’s deadliest infectious disease, greater than even TB and AIDS. Dr Zhang Chunhua is a Rabies expert with Beijing’s Centre for Disease Control. She says “mad dog disease” kills about two thousand Chinese every year.
DR ZHANG CHUNHUA: Actually the incidents of rabies is not very high but it has a higher death rate. Once you get infected with rabies you will die for sure.
TAYLOR: Nineteen year old Liu Zhao was playing with his own pet dog when it bit him. Rabies clinics treat even minor scratches seriously. Dogs can be infected without showing any symptoms.
LIU ZHAO: I wasn’t planning to have the vaccination but my family all tried to persuade me. So then I came here.
TAYLOR: It’s thought that as many as 10% of China’s dogs have rabies. For rabies experts, China’s dog ownership boom has to be handled carefully. Pets are responsible for half of all the bites presented in Beijing’s clinics but there is a much more traditional place for the dog here. It’s not on the lap of the Chinese but on their dinner plates.
In markets like this, dogs are sold for the restaurant trade. China is the world’s greatest consumer of dog meat, eating as many as twenty million dogs a year. Animal rights groups claim most die horrible deaths.
WANG QIMING: There are many who eat dogs. Before, young people didn’t eat it much – but now they do.
TAYLOR: Wang Qiming owns this dog farm on Beijing’s outskirts. The dogs here are a special cross between a local Chinese breed and a St Bernard. The offspring grow fast and the meat is said to be tender with little fat. More than 1000 dogs a year end up at Mr Wang’s other business, his restaurant.
WANG QIMING: There are many people who feel that if you have pet dogs, you can’t eat dog. We are cultivating meat dogs only for food supply. So it doesn’t matter. We’re not killing pet dogs to eat.
TAYLOR: It’s spruikers claim dog meat is a warming winter dish and more nutritious than beef or lamb. The restaurant’s signature dish is dog hotpot. Only animals between six months and a year old are used.
DINER XIU TINGSHUAI: Eating dog meat is nutritious and beneficial to your health. It is cooked with high heat.
DINER WEI GONGCHEN: This is a special dish in Beijing. It is completely different from Beijing roast duck.
TAYLOR: It’s a Sunday afternoon and owners from across Beijing are taking part in a special competition. Amateur trainer Gao Bo, who we met earlier, has left his plush apartment and come with one of this three pets – star pupil Chocolate. The lounge room training has paid off. The Shetland Sheepdog is a standout and effortlessly breezes through.
GAO BO: Actually he made a little mistake. He missed an obstacle crossing. But generally speaking it was okay, because it’s been quite a while since I took him to do those exercises.
TAYLOR: Eventually Chocolate is declared overall winner.
QIN TIAN: Congratulations!
GAO BO: Thank you, thank you… thank you.
QING TIAN: Work even harder.
GAO BO: I will work harder. I will train the other dog!
TAYLOR; China’s increased prosperity over the past two decades has improved the lives of millions of people. The same goes for many dogs in China but in the Year of the Dog, man’s best friend has no guarantee of good fortune.
No more – the dog is back.
The market for pets and pet related products in China now exceeds 2 billion dollars a year. Each year in the Chinese zodiac, another animal is celebrated. In 2006, it’s the canine’s turn.
In this Year of the Dog, man’s best friend has been rehabilitated and brought in from the cold. China’s growing middle class has embraced the canine as a symbol of affluence and modernity but for many animals here, it’s still a dog’s life of suffering and pain.
Gao Bo and his wife Wang Lixin are “Chuppies” – young, Chinese and upwardly mobile. They enjoy the trappings of middle class success, a spacious new apartment, well paying jobs, nice clothes and to round off their ideal lives, a lap dog and two larger friends that spend hours each day in a tiny cage.
MRS WANG: When I get back home thinking of three little creatures waiting for me, the feeling is fantastic.
TAYLOR: The couple don’t want a child right now but they’ve always wanted pet dogs. Now they can afford them. By law they’re allowed only one dog in their apartment but they sneak in two more by claiming they live at their respective parent’s homes.
MR GAO: In the past, to be honest the living standard in China wasn’t very high. If you had a dog, how could you look after it?
TAYLOR: Their young Border Collie Summer comes from Australia and was imported for vastly much more than many Chinese earn in a year but the star of the trio is Shetland Sheepdog, Chocolate. He’s in training for dog competitions and the lounge room doubles as practice ground. The dogs are so important they all recently had to move home.
MRS WANG: It was for them that we bought this new house because we wanted them to have more space to exercise. Our old house is smaller than this one.
TAYLOR: The dogs are surrogate children. For millions of mandatory one child families in China, dogs are a welcome extra companion lavished with attention. Xiang Xiang has an extensive wardrobe and an outfit for every occasion.
Just as dogs are snapped up for pets, they’re also disposed of. On the outskirts of Beijing Zhang Luping runs a centre for abandoned and abused animals. Not so long ago places like this didn’t exist. Today it’s home for 400 former pets.
ZHANG LU PING: They were abandoned there because they were sick, and I collected them. Some were thrown over the gate of our centre, which is very high – and had their legs broken.
TAYLOR: Zhang Lu Ping says that historically most Chinese have been very hard on dogs. There sole purpose was to guard the farm. Anywhere else they were pests not pets. Such “old thinking” is disappearing but she complains that many new owners view dogs as toys. Toys are easily tossed aside.
Mao Mao is coming in from the cold. He’s an abandoned dog on his second chance. He was abused and living in an animal shelter when He Ping and her husband decided to bring him home.
HE PING: There are photos posted outside the gate of the pet hospital. My husband fell in love with him at first sight.
TAYLOR: They’re a poor family with a simple apartment but in Beijing pet ownership is not limited to the wealthy.
HE PING: [Talking to the dog] Mao Mao, what’s wrong with you today? Being silly?
TAYLOR: The cost of keeping Mao Mao takes a big bite out of the family’s small income. It’s the price they willingly pay for company. The Chinese word for pet literally translates to “spoiled animal”. Mrs He calls Mao Mao her second son and Mao Mao is top dog to their teenage boy.
HE PING: We do look after him when it’s necessary but we think our little son suffered a lot before, so we should love him more. Our elder son gets used to it and doesn’t complain any more.
TAYLOR: Their real son, Zhao Lei, accepts the situation.
ZHAO LEI: I don’t know how my friends look at this. I simply take him as my younger brother.
TAYLOR: During the Cultural Revolution, police killed dogs on sight. They were considered the playthings of the rich and powerful. Authorities are slowly shaking off their anti-pet sentiments and accepting that dogs are here to stay. Beijing recently slashed registration costs and annual fees. Today the Dog Squad is out patrolling for unregistered animals.
POLICEMAN: [To woman] I hope next time you’ll bring the dog licence when you’re out with your dog.
TAYLOR: [Policing talking to man carrying a dog] This man doesn’t have a licence or a lead. He’ll need to pay a fine to get the dog back. There are still tight restrictions on everything from the importation of breeds to the size of dogs allowed in certain areas.
POLICEMAN DENG XIANGYANG: In this city it’s forbidden to have dogs in hospitals or teaching and dormitory areas in schools.
TAYLOR: There’s good reason for this tough approach to dogs on the streets.
GANG MAI DAO: [To doctor] When I was just about to go in the door, the dog saw me. So I didn’t dare enter, and turned around to avoid him. But he ran after me and bit me on the lower part of my legs.
TAYLOR: Just in Beijing as many as six thousand people are attacked by dogs every month. Rabies is China’s deadliest infectious disease, greater than even TB and AIDS. Dr Zhang Chunhua is a Rabies expert with Beijing’s Centre for Disease Control. She says “mad dog disease” kills about two thousand Chinese every year.
DR ZHANG CHUNHUA: Actually the incidents of rabies is not very high but it has a higher death rate. Once you get infected with rabies you will die for sure.
TAYLOR: Nineteen year old Liu Zhao was playing with his own pet dog when it bit him. Rabies clinics treat even minor scratches seriously. Dogs can be infected without showing any symptoms.
LIU ZHAO: I wasn’t planning to have the vaccination but my family all tried to persuade me. So then I came here.
TAYLOR: It’s thought that as many as 10% of China’s dogs have rabies. For rabies experts, China’s dog ownership boom has to be handled carefully. Pets are responsible for half of all the bites presented in Beijing’s clinics but there is a much more traditional place for the dog here. It’s not on the lap of the Chinese but on their dinner plates.
In markets like this, dogs are sold for the restaurant trade. China is the world’s greatest consumer of dog meat, eating as many as twenty million dogs a year. Animal rights groups claim most die horrible deaths.
WANG QIMING: There are many who eat dogs. Before, young people didn’t eat it much – but now they do.
TAYLOR: Wang Qiming owns this dog farm on Beijing’s outskirts. The dogs here are a special cross between a local Chinese breed and a St Bernard. The offspring grow fast and the meat is said to be tender with little fat. More than 1000 dogs a year end up at Mr Wang’s other business, his restaurant.
WANG QIMING: There are many people who feel that if you have pet dogs, you can’t eat dog. We are cultivating meat dogs only for food supply. So it doesn’t matter. We’re not killing pet dogs to eat.
TAYLOR: It’s spruikers claim dog meat is a warming winter dish and more nutritious than beef or lamb. The restaurant’s signature dish is dog hotpot. Only animals between six months and a year old are used.
DINER XIU TINGSHUAI: Eating dog meat is nutritious and beneficial to your health. It is cooked with high heat.
DINER WEI GONGCHEN: This is a special dish in Beijing. It is completely different from Beijing roast duck.
TAYLOR: It’s a Sunday afternoon and owners from across Beijing are taking part in a special competition. Amateur trainer Gao Bo, who we met earlier, has left his plush apartment and come with one of this three pets – star pupil Chocolate. The lounge room training has paid off. The Shetland Sheepdog is a standout and effortlessly breezes through.
GAO BO: Actually he made a little mistake. He missed an obstacle crossing. But generally speaking it was okay, because it’s been quite a while since I took him to do those exercises.
TAYLOR: Eventually Chocolate is declared overall winner.
QIN TIAN: Congratulations!
GAO BO: Thank you, thank you… thank you.
QING TIAN: Work even harder.
GAO BO: I will work harder. I will train the other dog!
TAYLOR; China’s increased prosperity over the past two decades has improved the lives of millions of people. The same goes for many dogs in China but in the Year of the Dog, man’s best friend has no guarantee of good fortune.