China 2020 – Shenzhen ban on dog and cat meat consumption
Law & Regulation
In Effect
May 1, 2020
Summary
On 1 May 2020, the “Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Regulation on the Comprehensive Ban of Wild Animal Consumption” entered into force, making Shenzhen the first city in mainland China to prohibit the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat under local law. The regulation was adopted by the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on 31 March 2020 following a public consultation on a draft released 25 February 2020. Article 3 of the regulation explicitly classifies dogs and cats as “pet” animals and excludes them from the list of species that may legally be consumed as food; only specified livestock species (pig, cattle, sheep, donkey, rabbit, chicken, duck, goose, pigeon, quail) and non-prohibited aquatic animals may be consumed. Commercial sale of dog and cat meat in restaurants and stores and sale of live dogs and cats for consumption in markets are prohibited from the effective date. The regulation also includes a comprehensive ban on consumption of state-protected wild animals and other terrestrial wild species. Penalties include minimum fines of 100,000 yuan for selling or consuming dog or cat meat or wild animal meat, administrative punishment, inclusion of offenders in the social credit system, and potential criminal investigation for suspected crimes.
Background Context
Before the regulation, China had no national-level prohibition on dog and cat meat consumption; the national wildlife trade restrictions introduced in early 2020 in response to COVID-19 did not extend to dogs and cats. Shenzhen’s ordinance extended restrictions locally to include companion species beyond the wild species focus of the national measures. The regulation followed the national context established by the 24 February 2020 NPC Standing Committee Decision on banning terrestrial wild animal consumption — documented in a separate Development record — which Shenzhen’s ordinance built upon by also banning dog and cat meat explicitly. The city of Zhuhai announced a comparable local ban to take effect 1 May 2020 shortly after Shenzhen’s passage. Humane Society International and other NGOs had conducted ongoing campaigns targeting China’s dog and cat meat trade and publicly welcomed the Shenzhen regulation as the first mainland city-level ban.
System Impact
Direction
Reduces Exploitation
Type
Alters Legal Basis
Significance
Moderate
From 1 May 2020, the regulation made it unlawful to sell dog and cat meat in restaurants and stores, to sell live dogs and cats for consumption in markets, or to consume dog and cat meat in Shenzhen. Dogs and cats are explicitly named in Article 3 as “pet” animals excluded from the list of animals that may legally be used for food. Enforcement provisions include minimum fines of 100,000 yuan for selling or consuming dog or cat meat or wild animals; fine ranges of 5–30 times the value of protected wildlife consumed and 3–10 times illicit income for wildlife business operators; administrative punishment; inclusion of offenders in the social credit system; and referral for criminal investigation where crimes are suspected. Liu Jianping of the Shenzhen Centre for Disease Prevention and Control stated publicly that existing supplies of poultry, livestock, and seafood are sufficient for consumers, indicating official expectation of demand redirection to other species. No suspension, repeal, or material amendment of the regulation has been reported in sources consulted. A comparable local ban covering dogs and cats was announced in Zhuhai to take effect on the same date.
Anticipated Effects
If implemented and enforced as written, the regulation would eliminate formal commercial channels for dog and cat meat within Shenzhen — restaurants, stores, and live animal markets — reducing or eliminating the city’s dog and cat meat trade.
If consumer demand for meat formerly met by dog and cat meat vendors is redirected to permitted livestock and aquatic animal species as implied by official communications, total meat consumption in Shenzhen could remain stable or increase across those other species while dog and cat exploitation for food declines within the jurisdiction.
Whether the Shenzhen ban has produced a net reduction in dog and cat slaughter for meat — or whether supply shifted to informal channels or to suppliers in adjacent jurisdictions — is not established in sources consulted.
Significance Rationale
Assigned Reduces Exploitation (impact direction) because the regulation removes legal channels for dog and cat meat commerce and consumption within Shenzhen — explicitly excluding dogs and cats from the permitted food animal list and establishing penalty structures for violations. The scale change is conditional on enforcement; no post-2020 longitudinal data on dog and cat slaughter or consumption in Shenzhen are available in sources consulted.
Assigned Alters Legal Basis (impact type) because the primary mechanism is the legal reclassification of dogs and cats from animals that could be consumed under local practice to species explicitly excluded from the food animal list under Shenzhen law. The regulation changes what is legally permitted in the jurisdiction by establishing a positive list of permitted food species and placing dogs and cats outside that list.
Assigned Moderate significance because the regulation applies to a single municipal jurisdiction — Shenzhen — rather than the national dog and cat meat trade. Within Shenzhen the prohibition is comprehensive, but the overall national-level dog and cat meat exploitation system continues to operate in jurisdictions without equivalent measures.
The duration and persistence of the scale change in dog and cat meat exploitation within Shenzhen is not established in available sources; no longitudinal data on post-2020 dog and cat slaughter or consumption in the city have been identified in sources consulted.
Key Actors
The Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress adopted the regulation on 31 March 2020; the Shenzhen Municipal Government issued implementation clarifications via official channels on 1 April 2020. Local market supervision and public security organs in Shenzhen are responsible for enforcement, including imposition of fines and referral for criminal investigation. Liu Jianping of the Shenzhen Centre for Disease Prevention and Control provided public statements regarding the adequacy of other meat supplies. Humane Society International, Animal Equality, and China Development Brief documented and publicised the regulation internationally.
Editorial Correction Notice
Key industries — taxonomy gap: No existing SE industry taxonomy term covers dog and cat meat as a food industry. Meat in SE’s taxonomy is scoped to terrestrial livestock; dogs and cats are not livestock. Wild Animal Products: Other Byproducts does not apply to companion species slaughtered for food. Companion Animal Trade covers the pet industry, not dog and cat meat production. This is an instance of the database-level open issue documented in the China country record: a new taxonomy term is required to cover companion species slaughtered for food across records for China, South Korea, and Vietnam. No key_industries assignment is made pending that taxonomy decision. This record should be updated when the new term is created.
Affected animals — Dogs and Cats CPT records: Dogs and Cats are assigned on the basis that CPT records for these species exist (as companion animals). If the current Animals CPT records for Dogs and Cats are scoped only to companion animal exploitation systems (pet trade, animal testing) and not to dog and cat meat production, the record structure should be reviewed. The assignment is correct given that the regulation directly affects these species’ use as food.
Geographic scope: The regulation applies to Shenzhen Special Economic Zone only. China is assigned as the affected country as Shenzhen is not a separate Countries CPT record. The sub-national scope is documented throughout this record.
Scale & Prevalence: No Shenzhen-specific quantitative estimate of dogs and cats previously consumed annually in the city is available in sources consulted. HSI campaign materials reference approximately 10 million dogs and 4 million cats killed annually across China; this is a nationwide NGO estimate, not a Shenzhen-specific figure, and should not be used as a local baseline.
Related records: The 24 February 2020 NPC Standing Committee Decision banning terrestrial wild animal consumption (national level) is documented in a separate Development record. The Shenzhen regulation implements and extends the national policy locally, adding an explicit dog and cat meat ban beyond the national instrument’s scope.
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