Pets will be banned from Guangzhou's metros from next year.

Passengers can be fined 50 yuan (US$6.7) for taking their pet on the metro, an even higher penalty than spitting, urinating, littering or disposing of chewing gum.

The regulation, ratified by the standing committee of the provincial people's congress of Guangdong, will take effect January 1.

Peng Peng, a researcher with Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, said the new rule was in line with the city's existing regulations banning pets from other public facilities.

The same regulations also urge people to ensure their pets do not harm others and pollute the environment.

"Not all people love pets. I think the regulation is feasible," he said.

"Pets cannot control when they have to urinate, and they might harm other passengers."

But not everyone in Guangzhou is pleased with the new regulation.

"Traffic jams are very common in Guangzhou and the metro has been my priority when I go outside," Ye Xiumin, a middle-aged housewife, said.

"I don't think my well-tamed cat will be dangerous to anyone at all."

She said the regulation should differentiate between big and dangerous pets from smaller and safer ones, instead of taking an across-the-board approach.

"I'll then have to elbow into the always crowded and snail-slow bus when I have to have my pet vaccinated or when I visit my friends who all have pets," she said.

(China Daily November 13, 2007)