WDA praises Sanming's innovative companion animal legislation and calls for the addition of clauses prohibiting the consumption of dogs and cats.

In April 2026, Sanming City, Fujian Province, released the "Sanming City Urban Companion Animal Protection and Management Measures (Draft for Public Comment)," taking an innovative step in the field of local urban animal protection and management in China by using "companion animals" as the core legislative concept. The World Dog Alliance (WDA) highly praised this legislative exploration and formally sent a letter to the Sanming Municipal Bureau of Justice, suggesting that the existing provisions be supplemented with a clause "prohibiting the consumption of dogs and cats," and that the local regulations be more aligned with modern civilized concepts and the consensus on public health and animal protection, drawing on the mature legislative experiences of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and other places.

Sanming City, located in central Fujian Province, formerly known as "Mingxi," is a civilized city that combines ecological livability with cultural heritage. In recent years, Sanming has continuously promoted urban civilization construction. This draft for public comment, for the first time, explicitly defines domestically kept dogs and cats as companion animals "for non-economic purposes such as companionship and emotional comfort," distinguishing them from livestock and poultry used for economic purposes, highlighting a humanistic approach to governance. The draft law establishes a comprehensive system encompassing government responsibilities, inter-departmental collaboration, public facilities, convenient services, stray animal management, civilized pet ownership, and harmless disposal, covering the entire chain of urban companion animal management and embodying the principles of "people-centeredness, convenient services, prevention first, and source control."

The draft law boasts several highlights, with several designs leading the way in local legislation: It clarifies the division of responsibilities among urban management, public security, agriculture and rural affairs, and market supervision departments, forming a collaborative governance structure; it encourages communities, commercial venues, and the transportation industry to create pet-friendly environments, setting up activity zones, convenient facilities, and reservation-based transportation services; it integrates functions such as immunization, registration, pet finding, and service maps through a digital platform to improve management efficiency; it promotes a "capture-sterilization-immunization-release" model for stray cats, advocating "adoption instead of buying," balancing animal welfare and community safety; it strictly regulates the harmless disposal and funeral services of companion animal carcasses, prohibiting the disposal and sale of dead companion animals to prevent public health risks; and it explicitly prohibits the abuse and abandonment of companion animals, setting corresponding legal liabilities to strengthen the sense of responsibility among pet owners.

In a letter to the Sanming Municipal Bureau of Justice, the World Dog Alliance (WDA) pointed out that naming the regulations around "companion animals" is a landmark innovation in local companion animal legislation in China. This wording is highly consistent with the humanized terminology used by national mainstream media such as CCTV to refer to "companion animals" and "furry friends," accurately aligning with the direction of national social progress and reflecting Sanming City's forward-looking vision in modernizing urban governance and humanizing public services.

While fully affirming the value of the draft, the WCAN offered suggestions for optimization based on advanced domestic legislative practices. On March 31, 2020, Shenzhen and Zhuhai took the lead in explicitly prohibiting the consumption of dogs and cats through local legislation, defining the boundary between companion animals and livestock for consumption in a systemic way. This both safeguards public sentiment and prevents the risk of disease transmission, becoming a model for urban animal protection legislation nationwide.

The WCAN calls on Sanming City to add a clause prohibiting the consumption of dogs and cats to Article 21 of the draft, which already prohibits the abuse and abandonment of companion animals, to complete the closed loop of companion animal protection and make local regulations more contemporary, civilized, and operable.

Companion animal legislation is an important indicator of a city's level of civilization. Regulating pet ownership, prohibiting abuse and abandonment, and banning the consumption of dogs and cats are not only practical needs for maintaining public health and safety and protecting citizens' health, but also essential requirements for cultivating civilized customs and promoting social harmony. Sanming City's legislative exploration provides an important reference for small and medium-sized cities across the country to carry out companion animal protection and management.

The World Dog Alliance (WDA) stated that it will continue to monitor the legislative process of Sanming City's measures and is willing to work with local governments, relevant departments, social organizations, and caring citizens to promote the improvement of companion animal protection systems, advocate scientific and civilized pet ownership, promote the social concept of respecting life and treating animals kindly, and contribute to the upgrading of urban public service systems and the improvement of social civilization.

In the future, we look forward to more cities improving animal protection governance with a humanistic and rule-of-law mindset, making respect for life and inclusiveness the foundation of urban civilization, and jointly building a beautiful home where humans and animals coexist harmoniously.