ThefeverforowningaTibetanMastiffhasfadedinChina. [Filephoto: gmw.cn]
TheincreasingnumberofTibetanMastiffs, akindoffiercedomesticdog, inthewildisthreateningthelivesofwildanimalslikesnowleopardsinSanjiangyuan, northwestChina'sQinghaiprovince.
Therarescenecanbemainlyattributedtothefadingfavourforthedogsinrecentyears.Lotsofthem, originallyraisedforsaleinQinghaiprovince, havebeenabandonedbytheirowners, areportbysohu.comsays.
Bestknownfortheirgiantsizeandloyaltytotheirowners, TibetanMastiffshavebeenraisedinalmosteveryshepherdhouseholdinSanjiangyuantoprotectsheepfromwolves.
About10 yearsago, afeverforowningaTibetanMastiffstartedtospreadacrossChina,especiallyamongwealthyfamiliesincities. Atthepeakofthetrend, lotsofbuyersfromeastChinacametoSanjiangyuantofindapet, andagoodMastiffcouldbesoldforashighasmillionsofyuan. ManypeopleinSanjiangyuanstartedtobreedthedog.
However, thepriceforTibetanMastiffsstartedtoplummetafter2010 andlotsofdogswereabandoned, asthecostoffeedingthegiantdogisveryhigh.
TheabandonedTibetanMastiffsnotonlygrabfoodfromotherwildanimals, theyalsoattacklivestockandevenpeopleontheroad. Environmentalexpertsalsowarnthatthedogcouldalsobringfatalinfectiousdiseasestootheranimals.
Sofar, thereportsays, about5,000 strayTibetanMastiffshavebeencapturedandcaredforin5 animalsheltersinYushu, anautonomousprefectureinSanjiangyuan. However,authoritiessaymoremeasuresneedtobetakenastheabandonedTibetanMastiffsarestillgrowinginnumberandtheyarenotbeingtakencareofintherestofSanjiangyuan.