Pet dogs and cats are being stolen in Taiwan and smuggled into China as pet ownership becomes the latest trend among China's newly rich, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday.
Everything from pocket-sized Chihuahuas to German shepherds are being smuggled across to China where pet ownership used to be discouraged as a sign of bourgeois living, the newspaper reported.
A dog or cat can sell for between 5,000 yuan (US$625) and 50,000 yuan (US$6,250) in a Beijing pet shop, it said.
Neither China or Taiwan can breed the pets fast enough to meet the demand so many smugglers steal the most popular species from pet owners, the newspaper quoted unidentified breeders as saying.
Indeed, animal hospitals and community billboards are full of ads looking for missing dogs and cats.
The animals are smuggled across the Taiwan Strait mainly by fishing boats, sometimes in sealed compartments which can result in many of them dying before they reach their destination.
Pet ownership in China has been tolerated in the past decade but tight restrictions are imposed by city authorities to keep the environment clean.
In Beijing, registering a dog costs US$600 initially, plus another US$240 a year.
Thousands of Chinese owners are believed to be hiding their pets to avoid paying the registration fee, the Taiwanese newspaper said.
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