From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2006:

HONG KONG, WASHINGTON D.C.–Animal advocates outside China
erupted as vehemently as Chinese counterparts to word of the summer
2006 dog purges, but had difficulty finding effective ways to
protest.
Because the Beijing government allowed discussion of the dog
purges to hit the Internet, western as well as Chinese domestic
reaction was markedly more intense than as recently as 2003, when
far more dogs were killed, to a fraction of the 2006 global notice.
“The killings have extra resonance in China’s Year of the
Dog,” the Financial Times editorialized. “The reaction has
highlighted changing attitudes since the animal last appeared in the
zodiacal cycle. In 1994, dog-beating squads were common even in big
cities and the People’s Daily, mouthpiece of the ruling Communist

Read more

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2006:

CHENGDU–The China State Forestry
Administration on August 11 indefinitely
postponed a scheduled auction of 289 licenses to
allow foreigners to hunt animals of 14 species.
“The auction will be held in a proper way after
soliciting suggestions from the public,” said
State Forestry Administration spokesperson Cao
Qingyao.
Three days after the Beijing Youth Daily
published an exposé of the auction plans, “The
response from the public is beyond our
expectation,” admitted State Forestry
Administration deputy director of wildlife
protection Wang Wei.

Read more