Mass culling of dogs in China after women dies of rabies?

The woman, a dentist by profession, was bitten by her own pet Husky in July and died in January.

Image for representational purposes only. (Image courtesy: Wikipedia)

Beijing: Over 240 dogs have been culled in China's southwestern Sichuan province after a woman died from a canine bite, according to media reports.

The slaughter started on Thursday, a day after it was confirmed that a women died from rabies, authorities of Xiuwen town said.

Law enforcement officers in gloves beat the dogs to death with long poles.

The animals' bodies were transported to disposal site by government staff wearing face masks, Hong Kong-based South China Sea quoted local media reports as saying.

The woman, a dentist, was bitten by her own pet Husky in July and died in January.

She refused to go to hospital because the dog had been vaccinated. She also feared the treatment might affect her pregnancy.

The township government said three people have died from rabies in the past eight years.

Because about 20 percent of vaccinated dogs can still carry the rabies virus, officials decided to cull the entire canine population within 3 kilometre of the town.

Some animal rights experts voiced concern to the indiscriminative cull. The incident prompted discussions on China's social media, the report said.