China’s ban on guide dogs distresses visually disabled

BEIJING - Over 10 million visually-disabled Chinese people have been facing problems after their guide dogs were banned from entering public places and riding on public transport.

Experts have said though guide dogs are accepted in public places in some countries like Japan, Australia and the US, there are no uniform regulations on guide dog management in China.

“In China, the guide dog is a new concept to many and the rules are still being written,” Wang Jingyu, animal behaviour expert and founder of a training centre for guide dogs, was quoted as saying by Global Times Friday.

In contrast to the respect they are given when they receive worldwide appreciation at major events, guide dogs for the blind are victims of discrimination in everyday life, he said.

“My Leo (a Labrador retriever) cannot enter supermarkets or take a bus or taxi,” a 49-year-old visually-disabled massage shop owner, Zhou Gang, from Liaoning province was quoted as saying.

Zhou got Leo in June 2009 from a guide dog training centre after he passed several stringent tests to evaluate if he could get along well with the animal.

The training centre in Liaoning province’s Dalian city, set up in 2006, is the first of its kind in China. So far it has trained 15 dogs to serve as guides of their visually-impaired masters. Several of these guides had been selected to guide athletes during the Paralympic Games held in Beijing in 2008.

“Before I got Leo, I dared not go far from home without my wife’s company. But now Leo is my best companion,” Zhou said, adding that he is totally “docile and obedient”.

What has been troubling Zhou of late is that his guide dog is not allowed to enter public areas like supermarkets and cannot ride with him on public transport.

When Zhou needed a ride to a family reunion, he found that no taxi would pick him up with his guide dog.

“We waited for over one hour and no taxi stopped for us,” Zhou said.

Another guide dog owner, Wang Xiaojun, owns a Golden Retriever licensed as a guide dog by the local police. But she still says she can’t shop in supermarkets because the guards present there say there is a rule against dogs entering the shop.

“They are afraid the dog would cause trouble and fail to realise it is a working dog,” she said.