China reclassifies dogs as pets instead of livestock
China's Ministry of Agriculture issued new guidelines Wednesday that reclassify dogs as pets instead of livestock, part of the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic.
"As far as dogs are concerned, along with the progress of human civilization and the public concern and love for animal protection, dogs have been 'specialized' to become companion animals ... and they will not be regulated as livestock in China," the notice said.
The coronavirus is believed to have originated in horseshoe bats, which may have passed the disease to other wildlife species for sale in the markets of Wuhan, where the virus was first detected.
Following the outbreak, China banned the breeding, trading and consumption of wildlife.
Also at Reuters.
(Score: 2) by DeVilla on Saturday April 11 2020, @06:22PM
I guess I don't really care.
If we ever start branding human diseases and malities like we do computer malities, then I vote for "Wuhan Flu". And I would suggest a logo sort of like this [gstatic.com]. Labs could label blood samples of carriers as "The Blood of Wuhan Flu". If a mutated strain starts spreading, it can be called "The Return of Wuhan Flu" or "The Vengeance of Wuhan Flu". People would all have to wear their "Mask(s) of Wuhan Flu".