Shanghai Unleashing 'One Dog Policy'

Residents of China's biggest city will soon be limited to one pooch as well as one child. Shanghai officials are finalizing a law that will ban households from owning more than one dog and require puppies to be given away to dogless households or to government adoption agencies before they reach 3 months of age, the China Daily reports.

Officials say increased dog mess and attacks and limited living space for the city's 20 million people make the move necessary, although dog owners say it's is too draconian and the city should focus on encouraging responsible ownership instead. "The government should improve public knowledge about how to raise a dog and how to prevent them from attacking people instead of forcing us to raise one dog only," said one resident. Other cities in China, where dog ownership is becoming a status symbol among the middle class, have introduced similar laws.
(More China stories.)