TY - THES ID - 138681158 TI - Changing Attitudes Towards Dogs in Chinese Cities: Will Dogs Ever Become Chinese Man's Best Friend? AU - Thomson, Emily AU - Standaert, Nicolas AU - KU Leuven. Faculteit Letteren. Opleiding Master in de taal- en regiostudies. Sinologie (Leuven) (uitdovend programma vanaf academiejaar 2017-2018) PY - 2018 PB - Leuven KU Leuven. Faculteit Letteren DB - UniCat UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:138681158 AB - Dogs have not always been viewed favourably throughout Chinese history. Even today, dogs are not always treated well in the Middle Kingdom; news sources often report on dog maltreatment and each year there is international outrage over the ways dogs at the Yulin Dog Meat Festival in South China are treated. Despite the fact that the Chinese are not known for their love of dogs, the number of pet dog owners in Chinese cities has risen considerably in recent years. In addition, the Chinese youth has not been influenced by the negative views that the older generation has been subjected to in previous years. This, coupled with several other factors, has had a positive influence on many Chinese people’s present attitudes towards dogs and has contributed to an increase in dog and animal welfare awareness. In recent years, a number of animal welfare organisations have emerged/become active in China. The question of how these organisations contribute to improving (dog) animal welfare awareness in China is the prime focus of this master thesis. By using conventional content analysis, the websites of several animal welfare organisations active in China were analysed. The results of the analysis showed that these organisations combat negative attitudes towards dogs by providing and distributing information to combat misconceptions, by implementing sterilisation measures to control stray dog populations, and by fighting against China’s rabies crisis and dog meat trade. Additionally, they contribute to increasing awareness by financing other organisations and volunteers, and by exchanging knowledge and support with groups committed to similar goals. They also make an effort to work together with Chinese authorities in the hope of establishing effective and coherent dog legislation at both provincial and national levels. Lastly, they strive to limit the lack of dog owner responsibility issue. The author of this thesis hopes that the research results presented in this paper can be a contribution to further studies on this topic. ER -