Shenzhen: A group is stepping up efforts to build a rescue centre for stray animals after two dogs mauled a 5-year-old boy.

The youngster was attacked last Wednesday while he was playing at his school campus in Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province.

He suffered serious injuries to his right ear, neck, back and limbs and underwent surgery for 5 hours, but is now recovering.

The incident has raised concerns over the management of stray animals in the city.

The city's pet association said it was already planning a rescue centre to take the growing number of stray animals off the streets.

Nobody claimed ownership of the dogs following the attack on the boy.

According to Shenzhen's urban management department, its law enforcement team has captured 1,511 unregistered dogs so far this year, of which nearly half were strays. The number is twice that of the same period last year.

Shenzhen Pet Association estimates there are at least 10,000 stray animals, such as cats and dogs, wandering in the city.

"Such a large amount of stray animals pose potential threats to citizens, especially children. More dangerously, many of the animals are carrying the deadly rabies virus," Zeng Fanhua, secretary-general of the association, a non-governmental organization, told China Daily.

The city's urban management department currently only provides a hotline for citizens to report stray animals, and warns people to keep away from them

"There is a great need for a rescue centre, which better protects the stray animals and creates a safer society," Zeng said.

The association submitted a proposal to the urban management department earlier this year for financial support for the project.

"We hope the government can allocate an area of land of 5,000 to 8,000 square metres to build the centre, and 3 to 5 million yuan (US$374,000-624,000) to launch the project," Zeng said.

"If the centre is built, we will carry out full examinations of the stray animals and treat them for any diseases. When they become healthy, they could be adopted. For those with incurable diseases, we will deal with them in a humane way."

While the urban management department is believed to be positive about the centre, it refused to give an official comment.

Zeng said the association would seek support from corporations and charity funds to finance it if the government department refused to help.

"We hope anyone with a loving heart will do something to help these poor animals," Zeng said.

A revision to the regulation on pet registration and management fees should also improve the problem of strays when it comes into effect in July. It will scrap the current 5,000 yuan (US$624) registration fees for owning a dog, and cut the annual management charge from 2,000 yuan (US$245) to 300 yuan (US$38).

Editor: Yan