AS DARKNESS falls over Beijing, dog owners such as Deng Xiaozhi nervously leave their homes with pets in tow for a walk or run in parks, safe in the knowledge that the city's dog catchers have clocked off.
A Beijing law making it illegal to keep dogs taller than 35cm means that dogs such as Mr Deng's placid golden retriever are outlaws and can be impounded and put down if they are caught by the authorities.
Pet ownership in China is booming and
dog lovers in particular complain about Beijing's inflexible laws against large dogs, which they say hark back to China's Communist past when those who kept dogs as pets were scorned as bourgeois time-wasters by Communist leader Mao Zedong.
"The 35cm rule is not scientific, as most big pet dogs are quieter than smaller ones in reality," Mr Deng said as he lay on the couch alongside his dog, Maomao. "People who make the rules have no knowledge whatsoever of dogs."
As pets become popular in China, Beijing dog owners are bristling over the ban on large dogs and the hefty annual licence fees for small dogs – of as much as 1,000 yuan (£73).
The ban is strictly enforced. Even a partially blind Paralympic medallist is unable to get her guide dog registered ahead of the Olympic Games and Paralympics when she is due to run with the torch at the opening ceremony.
"I know it's pet owners' responsibility to register their dogs, but current regulation doesn't allow me to do so," said Mr Deng. "For big dogs, being captured by the police almost always leads to a dead end."
Beijing's 17 million residents registered 703,897 pet dogs in 2007, up 17 per cent from 600,096 in 2006. The number of dogs in the city is probably much higher.
Foreign diplomats are exempt from the size rule, and are often spotted parading huge Siberian huskies or labradors along leafy streets. Beijingers more often opt for tiny Chihuahuas or the city's white fluffy namesake, the Pekinese.
Some dog owners and animal activists worry about a clampdown after the Olympics when Beijing is no longer in the international spotlight.
They believe China's desire to present its best face to the world ahead of the games in August is keeping dogs out of catchers' nets for the time being.
In embarrassing scenes that the government does not want repeated, hundreds of animal lovers took to Beijing streets in November 2006 to condemn raids that resulted in tens of thousands of unregistered dogs being killed.
Beijing officials, however, deny they have gone soft on big dogs ahead of the Olympics.
"We are carrying out measures as we did in the past," said a spokesman for the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau. "Any dogs without proper licences will be treated accordingly."
Yet local authorities seem to have been especially sensitive to animal rights issues of late, even ordering restaurants to stop serving dog meat.
"Driven by the need to maintain social stability, the government has softened its stance on the problem of dog keeping," said Zhao Jian, a veteran Beijing animal rights activist.
Mr Zhao, a doctor for 40 years, is among the critics of the ban on big dogs. He says the law results in owners dumping dogs that outgrow the height limit, often in the countryside, where they are exposed to rabies. This exacerbates an already serious problem of rabid dogs in rural China.
Mr Zhao has sent more than 30 letters to the government in the past three years, calling for the regulation to be scrapped. "I am outraged by the bureaucracy and inefficiency in relevant governmental departments," the 61-year old said.
Despite the lack of action, Mr Zhao is confident that Beijing will drop its 35cm rule in time. Zhengzhou in central Henan province raised its limit to 55cm last year and Shanghai has no limit at all.
Beijing's rules are out of date and out of touch, Wang Jin, a professor at Peking University Law School, told the People's Daily newspaper.
Introducing welfare laws that China lacks to protect dogs and cats from culls and abuse would help government objectives, said Lu Di, who founded China's first organisation to protect small animals in 1992. "To care for and protect small animals actually (helps] to build up a 'harmonious society'," the former university professor said, referring to the government's much-quoted social slogan.
As for dog lover Mr Deng, his wish is simple: to get his trusty golden retriever registered.
"Although I spend much money and time on Maomao, the joy brought by him cannot be measured financially," MR Deng said. "It would be just perfect to get a licence."
The full article contains 798 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
