Dog cull in China to fight rabies

By Quentin Sommerville
BBC News, Shanghai



A county in south-west China has ordered all 50,546 dogs to be killed to fight a rabies outbreak which has killed three people, state media say.

It has taken five days, but authorities in Mouding County in south-west China say they have killed almost all of the 50,000 dogs in the area.

Some of the dogs were clubbed to death in the street as their owners watched.

Other dog owners took matters into their own hands, poisoning or electrocuting their pets.

They were paid around $0.60 (£0.32) for each dog in compensation.

China has a poor record of animal protection. There are no laws to prevent cruelty to pets.

The local government ordered the cull following an outbreak of rabies.

Three people in the county, including a four-year-old girl, have died from the disease. A further 360 have been bitten by dogs, the authorities say.

However, even the 4,000 dogs that had been immunised against rabies were put to death in case the immunisations were not effective.

Roadside checkpoints were set up to ensure that no dogs escaped. Only police and military dogs have been spared.

There are a growing number of animal rights activists in China and the country has laws protecting endangered species. But there are no regulations to protect other animals, including pets.

The Russian State Circus Company

Artistic Director and Producer - Yana Schevchenko.
Costume Designer - Natalia Chistova.
Composers – Konstanin Kobanoff.
The new program is a two-part show-divertissment, lasting 120 minutes (not counting the intermission).
The troupe consists of 35 artists.
The young director of the troupe, Yana Schevchenko, is an outstanding personality. With musical and artistic education to her credit, she acquired the experience of work in the circus as a gymnast and animal trainer and then she got down to producing acts, attractions and big programs. Having created the attractions "Exotic Jungles and the Amazon", "Aqua-World", and later the "Circus on Water" troupe she showed her worth as a tireless inventor, a romantic designer and a remarkably talented organizer. Yana is capable of devising a scenic costume and a new aerial apparatus, to work out a light score and to inspire her associates for putting into life the projects that, on the face of it, seemed most incredible.
In her new show she comes out with a fresh original lay-out of acts, more complicated stunt array, offering her artistic vision of the ice circus. The young artists perform their acts so ardently and skillfully that the spectators remain astonished and delighted throughout the whole show from the first to the last act.
The program features all circus art genres: very complicated combinations of acrobatic jumps over the skipping rope, jugglers with Indian clubs, illusion, equilibrists on unicycles, aerial gymnasts, choreographic compositions, acrobats with Rhein wheels, eccentrics, with all the acts being performed very swiftly on skates. Along with the clowns you will become involved in pranks and practical jokes!




The audience is invariably delighted with the acts featuring trained animals. None other program on ice has got such a diversity! The funny dogs, the lyrical duet with pigeons, the remarkable act with cats, as well as the attraction with California sea lions give rise to strong positive emotions of both children and adults.


It is in this program alone that you will be able to enjoy the world’s only unique attraction "Northern Lights" presented by the charming animal trainer Yulia Denisenko – the trained white Polar bears on ice! This is really a tremendous show!

The new program directed by Yana Schevchenko has already been seen in Russia, the Ukraine, Baltic states, Qatar, India, Hungary, China, France, Tunisia, Romania and the United States.

"Yana Schevchenko’s show is enchanting and fantastic" – this what the press unanimously writes, appraising the show, in different countries!