Saturday, September 16, 2017

"Once prized as pets, abandoned Tibetan mastiffs are now wreaking havoc in rural Tibet"

SI:
Previously, this majestic breed was kept by wealthy families as a trendy, rather pricey pet and status symbol -- one dog could even be sold for as much as a million yuan. But, recently, interest in the breed has declined dramatically, leading to the abandonment of a significant portion of the country's overbred mastiff population.

...

This continues to cause problems in the region today, besides the insane amount of dog feces on the street and the diseases that these animals carry, free-roaming Tibetan mastiffs have proved to be a danger to livestock and even people. Last November, an 8-year-old girl died after she was mauled by a stray in Qinghai. There are regular reports of mastiffs chasing people in packs and even small towns are known to have a population of at least 500 stray dogs.

"The sharp decline in the price is one reason behind the rise in homeless Tibetan dogs, and the other is their strong fertility.