All dogs in Beijing must be vaccinated against rabies and all pigs against encephalitis B by August 15 at their owners' expense.

And dogs suspected of rabies will be rounded up and killed, under an order issued by the Beijing Bureau of Agriculture this week, reported Saturday's China Daily.

Zheng Ruifeng, vice-director of the General Veterinary Station for Livestock Husbandry of Beijing, said on Friday that the station is now preparing for disease control blitz.

According to the bureau order, animal supervision and disease control agencies at town level and below should introduce compulsory vaccinations for dogs and pigs, which can harbor the infections, throughout their jurisdictions.

Public security bureau will co-operate with veterinary stationsto help capture, isolate and kill dogs believed to be infected with rabies.

And the police will ensure compliance with the vaccination order, which could be resisted by some owners who will have to foot the bill for the immunizations.

Dogs that already have rabies vaccinations certificates will beexempt from the order. The vaccination costs have not been decidedyet but will probably differ by region, according to Zheng.

He said people living in richer districts will probably pay more to immunize their pets.

"We must ensure the rate of immunization is 100 percent in Beijing," he said .

Wei Haitao, an official with the Beijing Bureau of Agriculture's department of animal husbandry and veterinary management, said the immunizations could ease public concerns over disease control in Beijing, in the wake of the city's SARS epidemic and the encephalitis B outbreak in South China's Guangdong Province.

No cases of rabies have been reported in the city for five years. No cases of encephalitis B have been diagnosed this summer either, she said on Friday.
 
(Xinhua News Agency   July 26, 2003)