Shanghai+announces+one+dog+policy-+Lauren

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12563432 Author: Chris Hogg

Brief Explanation: The Shanghai government has begun a one dog policy this May. This means that 600,000 unlicensed dogs will be declared illegal. This is due to the fact that 140,000 people we attacked by unlicensed dogs. There are now going to be permits for these dogs, meaning that the supply of breeder's dogs, while the supply of "pound" dogs will be greatly increased. If a person is found with a dog, without a permit, authorities will have to give them away. Those who already have two licensed dogs will be able to keep them, but only new applications from households without dogs will be accepted. Also this would increase the demand of desexing the dogs, due to the new permits. There will also be a banning of "attack dogs", which means the supply of british bulldogs, german shepards and boxers will decrease in supply. However due to the new law, people might find it fashionable to have a dog, so the demand for dogs may increase. Also there could be a demand in permits, people could apply for the dogs and sell there permits for profits.

Definitions: Supply- the amount of a good or service offered for sale. Supply Curve-relates the supply of a good to its price, holding the prices of inputs constant. Demand- The quantity of a good or service that people want to buy. Demand Curve- relates the demand for a good to its own price, holding all other factors constant. Equilibrium price- quantity supplied and quantity demanded are equal for competitive producers is their marginal cost. Permits-an authoritative or official certificate of permission; license Producers- people who provide a good or service Consumers- people who buy these goods or services from producers Perfect Competition- describes markets such that no participants are large enough to have the market power to set the price of a specific product

Graphs: This graph shows the demand for desexing in dogs.

This graph illustrates the demand for "attack dogs"

Evaluation: I think that this is a good idea, to limit the amount of dogs on the streets in Shanghai. These dogs can be very dangerous and could can carry harmful diseases like rabies. Many people in the world see animals as a toy, hence the "dogs aren't only for christmas" campaign, so this will make consumers very cautious before buying a dog, because once they choose that dog they have no more options. But if the government is banning so called "attack dogs", what are they going to use as police dogs? Will the government make them the exception? Also what about dog trainers? Will they have to choose another profession because the amount of dogs is decreasing? Especially those who train police dogs. Also this rule could go the same for cats, since there are many feral cats in Shanghai too.