The city of Beijing has started its annual dog registration this month. The New Beijing Daily reports that although many dog owners are willing to pay the license fee, few want their pets sterilized.

The paper says although the government has encouraged dog owners to accept the operation for their dogs, and has offered beneficial policies, including a 200 Yuan award, about 30 U.S dollars, only 3,000 people had their dogs sterilized last year.

Many dog owners think it is against the dog's nature, and that their dogs definitely won't like it. However, representative from the International Fund for Animal Welfare told the paper that sterilization may be the best way to control the number of dogs in the city.

The representative also said dog control is not about limiting the number of dogs, but reducing the number of irresponsible owners by helping them keep their pets in a proper way.

As the effect of regulated sterilization has been approved by many cities in the world, he also adviced the local government to continue to promote sterilization by all means, including specific laws to guide dog owners, as well as providing more benefits for them.

Beijing now has more than 700,000 registered dogs, and the number is still growing rapidly. The paper says it will take time for dog owners to change their minds and keep pets in a more civilized way.