Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Mr. Shen Jianzhong

Proposals on strengthening the prevention and control of human and animal diseases at the source of animals.

On the one hand, the government should coordinate and launch inter-departmental and inter-disciplinary collaboration, and even international collaboration, to establish and improve an integrated prevention and control system for human and animal diseases; on the other hand, it is necessary to invest more funds and personnel in the field of veterinary public health, and strengthen research on prevention and control technologies and products; finally, it is necessary to strengthen the implementation of prevention and control policies, especially to improve local and grassroots prevention and control forces, and to strengthen grassroots veterinary teams.

Li Xie Xinjia Danzhen, a living Buddha who presides over the Changdu Monastery in Sichuan Province and a member of the National People’s Congress

Three suggestions were made:

1. Companion animals are specific objects with personal significance

2. Foster community social organisations to protect and manage community animals

3. Include animal public interest damage cases into the scope of public interest litigation

Tou Qingming, headmaster of the second secondary school in Yucheng District, Ya’an, a deputy to the National People’s Congress

It is proposed that the criminal liability for dog injuries be included in the amendment to the Criminal Law, so as to further improve the issue of liability in dog injury cases and provide a clear legal basis for a fairer and more just resolution of dog injury cases, and better protect the rights of victims and social stability.

First of all, the criminal liability for injury by dogs should be included in the amendment to the Criminal Law. In order to clarify the boundaries of judicial responsibility and to provide a clear legal basis for judicial officers to pursue the criminal responsibility of dog owners or managers in cases of dog injuries, and to reduce the difficulty of attributing criminal responsibility, specific legal provisions should be included in the amendments to the Criminal Law. For example, it could be stipulated that “if a dog keeper or manager, whether in a public or private place, allows a dog to become uncontrolled and dangerous, he or she shall be guilty of an offence and shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months and a fine; if he or she causes minor injury to another person, he or she shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months and a fine; if he or she causes serious injury to another person, he or she shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years and a fine; if he or she causes death, he or she shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years and a fine. If death is caused, the penalty shall be imprisonment for a term of not less than three years and a fine.”

In addition, there is a need for judicial interpretation. In order to better apply the law, judicial interpretations can be issued for the provisions proposed in the previous article to be included in the amendment to the Criminal Law, combined with specific cases of trials, such as: classifying the keeping of dogs according to their height, weight and ferocity; stipulating that the owner or keeper of a dog has limited exemptions or mitigating circumstances, etc.

On this basis, Tou believes that there is a need to improve the system of registration, keeping and management of dogs.

If dogs can be managed systematically and regularly, the probability of irresponsible keepers can be greatly reduced, and the interests of kept dogs can be taken into account while protecting the personal safety of citizens and social stability.