Lewis Hamilton Appeals to Fans in China for Reclassifying Dogs As Companions And Not As Livestock, Says ‘This Has to Stop’

Recently China redrafted their guidelines which labelled dogs as companions and not items for livestock. The draft was released alongside National Catalogue of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources which has a list of animals that can be legally traded for meat, fur and medical purposes. Now, Formula 1 Champion Lewis Hamilton joined the bandwagon and urged his fans in China to stop treating dogs as livestock and rebranding them as more of a companion. The new guidelines imposed in China where the government has imposed a ban on trading and eating wild animals. Canadian Grand Prix 2020 Postponed for Indefinite Period Amid Coronavirus Crisis.

The decision was taken in the wake of coronavirus which seems to have originated from the Wet market in the country.  The virus has killed more than 94,000 people across the globe and the cases in each of these countries are escalating. Countries like Italy and USA have suffered a lot due to the virus and the number of cases has been increasing with each passing day. Amid this chaos, The Mercedes racer took to his Instagram story and posted a picture from 'Little China Dog Rescue' and urged his followers to support the same. Hamilton wrote, "To all my fans in China. I'd be so grateful if you could vote and push for this. This has to stop."

China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in a statement said that the preference for animal protection has changed drastically as compared to the traditional world. The statement further explained that dogs all over the world are not regarded as livestock and even China should follow the same.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 11, 2020 02:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).