Shanghai official adopted a one-dog per-household policy to mitigate problems resulted from rising popularity of pet dogs in the city, according to ShanghaiDaily.com.
The stricter rules aim at improving surging dog-related issues including dog attacks, the spread of rabies and rampant barking. This new policy reminds us of the well-known one-child policy enacted over 30 years ago. However, with the one-child policy credited for successfully preventing 400 million additional births, would the one-dog policy also become a smash hit?
It would not be a simple task to evaluate the influence of the one-dog policy. Though it might be an expansion of the one-child policy, it might not have the same impact as the 30-year-old one did based on their different economy and social development backgrounds.
China’s economy has grown dramatically for the past 30 years. The increasing income has given rise to the middle class in the country. According to The Telegraph, the rising number of China’s elite has attributed to the increase of pet dog population in Shanghai, which is at about 800,000. The newly rich not only regards the ownership as simply a companionship, but also a sign of wealth. In my opinion, it takes more than one-dog policy to improve the issue among this group.
In addition to the economy’s growth, China’s social developments have changed a lot over 30 years. The Chinese can always figure out various ways to cope with different regulations brought by these changes. To truly improve this issue from the root, the government should also educate proper knowledge related to raising a dog to its residents.
As China is facing dramatic changes for the past few years, it is important for the authority to realize how to adjust its policy to better fit in the different context. A workable policy in the past doesn’t represent that it will success after 30 years. After all, a country can change a lot in 30 years, and the only thing that doesn’t change is change, isn’t it?
