The city authorities of Hanzhong city, Shaanxi Province, China, recently instigated a policy of killing dogs indiscriminately in order to try and achieve a "dog free city", following a number of cases of rabies this year. Ordinary citizens are being encouraged to participate in the killing; a banner even went up outside a government building urging citizens to "mobilise everyone to kill dogs". As a result, groups of people have been stalking the streets with poles and sticks, brutally beating to death any dog they come across.

No dogs are safe. Street dogs, owned dogs, puppies, and even dogs that have been vaccinated and neutered and live with families in their apartments, are all being killed. Dogs are left dead or dying, piled in the streets, to be eventually collected by the city authorities.

Animals Asia is committed to stopping the slaughter. To this end we have provided funds for local animal welfare groups to visit Hanzhong to document the atrocities and to lobby the local authorities. Through them, we have tried to engage the authorities in Hanzhong in dialogue, and provided them with information on trap-neuter-release, dog registration, and vaccination programmes, similar to those adopted internationally.

You can help support our efforts to battle this atrocity by writing to your local Chinese embassy, explaining politely but firmly that the policy is cruel, heartless and ineffective, and paints the people and government of Hanzhong in a very poor light.

Urge the Chinese authorities to persuade the Hanzhong government to abandon this carnage in favour of a humane trap-neuter-release and vaccination programme, as recommended by the WHO, and animal welfare organisations worldwide.