China is pushing forward with plans to move away from slaughtering millions of dogs for meat every year. The Ministry of Agriculture has announced new guidelines that declare pooches are pets, rather than livestock.

“As far as dogs are concerned, along with the progress of human civilization and the public concern and love for animal protection, dogs have been ‘specialized’ to become companion animals, and internationally are not considered to be livestock, and they will not be regulated as livestock in China.”
Dog meat is still considered a delicacy in China and there are several regions where the trade thrives. However, Shenzhen, a city with 12.5 million residents, was the first to introduce the ban consumption of dog and cat meat.