The establishment of a centralized pet custody institution is not only conducive to professional care of pets, but also avoids the potential risk of epidemic transmission.

▲On March 6, 2022, a pet dog accompanies its owner for a meal in the 798 Art District in Beijing. Photo by Beijing News reporter Wang Zicheng

How to take care of pets at home after residents undergo centralized isolation according to the needs of epidemic prevention and control? Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, this question has always been on the minds of pet owners. At present, Shenzhen has established the country's first custody center for centralized quarantined pets, providing observation, nursing, health monitoring and medical security services, allowing many pet owners to eat reassuring pills.

In modern urban society, pets play an increasingly prominent role in the companionship of residents. In the eyes of pet-loving residents, pets are not playthings that can be discarded at will, but inseparable life partners, and even regarded as important family members. Under the epidemic situation, properly caring for the pets of close contacts, infected people and other people involved in the epidemic is an important means to gain widespread understanding and support for epidemic prevention and control measures, and it also reflects the level of urban governance and the temperature of epidemic prevention and control.

A pet is the owner's personal property, but a pet is an independent life. Without the necessary feeding and care, the pet may suffer health damage or even death. Therefore, in dealing with the pets of people involved in the epidemic, we must come up with positive methods and strategies. Any inaction will mean harm to pets and damage to the rights of pet owners.

Previously, when epidemics occurred in various places, various convenience measures were introduced in response to the voices of pet owners. In some places, volunteers are arranged to feed pets at the residence of the centralized quarantined persons on a regular basis. In some places, owners are allowed to bring pets to the quarantine point. In some places, a family is allowed to leave a person at home to isolate and take care of pets... The implementation of these measures conforms to animal ethics. It also respects the rights of pet owners.

However, it should be seen that individual epidemic prevention and control staff and volunteers in individual places still have a passive and negative side when treating pets, and even after the Internet exposed that pets were injured, relevant parties only introduced coping plan. In fact, the war epidemic has entered its third year. The issue of raising pets during the quarantine period is not a new problem, and there is already sufficient experience to follow. Therefore, whether or not to actively respond to social needs in this regard is related to the subjective initiative of local public services.

Existing research and practice have proved that there is no inevitable contradiction between epidemic prevention and pet ownership. This time, Shenzhen's practice of establishing a pet custody center for quarantined personnel is an institutionalized plan to solve the problem of pet raising during the epidemic on the basis of summarizing previous experience. The establishment of a centralized pet custody institution gives the hairy child an exclusive protective umbrella, which is not only conducive to professional care of pets, but also avoids the potential risk of epidemic transmission.

The data for 2021 shows that the number of dogs registered in Shenzhen is about 220,000. Taking into account the unregistered situation, the actual number of dogs should be higher, and many people have cats or other pets. This is also the status quo of the pet-raising trend in many other cities. Under this circumstance, if the epidemic spreads widely in a city, and thousands of pet-raising families are affected, it may not be able to fully meet the demand by relying solely on the government and community to establish pet custody institutions.

Actually, with the development of pet economy, there are many commercial pet care institutions in the market. Therefore, in the event of an epidemic, market forces can also be activated to appropriately transform commercial pet custody institutions to receive epidemic-related pets. In this way, it can not only relieve the anxiety of pet owners, but also reduce the pressure on social epidemic prevention resources.

At present, the domestic epidemic is still running at a high level, and the prevention and control situation is severe and complicated. Adhering to the general policy of dynamic clearing is unswerving, and we need to do everything possible to help people solve practical problems. Pet owners are already a huge group that cannot be ignored in urban life. The health and safety of pets is related to their vital interests and feelings, and also affects the effectiveness of the implementation of epidemic prevention policies.

In this sense, Shenzhen's first trial to establish an epidemic-related pet custody institution is undoubtedly a good start. All localities should also fully mobilize social resources and improve pet care methods during the epidemic according to local conditions, so that pet owners can feel at ease, demonstrate the warmth of the city, and help fight the epidemic together.