Store promo-sale a threat to animals?
()
04/18/2002
A Beijing department store gifts pet birds and fish as shopping incentives and it has helped its sales grow.But the move has drawn criticism from experienced pet keepers. The newly opened Anzhen Lianhua Department Store said customers who had bought goods for at least 100 yuan (US$12) could get a parrot, a goldfish or a pot of flowers for free. Excited customers are making a beeline to the redemption counter, most of them asking for the colourful, lively parrots. But experienced bird and fish keepers were worried about the free pets' fate. "Do the customers know how to keep a bird? Are they prepared for the chores? What happens when the thrill wears out?" animal rights protectionists asked. Milutinovic to protect misuse of name Bora Milutinovic, China's national football team coach, will register his Chinese name as a trademark to guard against its unauthorized commercial use, Beijing Youth Daily reported yesterday. Milutinovic has hired an intellectual property law firm to submit the application on his behalf to the Administration of Industry and Commerce. Milutinovic has become the most sought-after advertising spokesperson after China qualified to play the Football World Cup finals for the first time. A media report said a company was seeking to register Milu, the coach's Chinese name, as its trademark. Milutinovic is not the first celebrity to register his name in China, hence,the law firm is confident about getting the approval. Money stolen 9 years ago returned Money stolen nine years ago from a Hunan Province farmer was returned to him with the help of Beijing Railway Transportation Court, reported Beijing Times yesterday. Lu Shunbin, a resident of Xiangtan in the Central China province was robbed of 13,500 yuan (US$1,630) while travelling on a train in 1993. Railway police later arrested one of the thieves, on whom Lu's identity card and 7,100 yuan (US$855) had been found. They were returned to the farmer in 1994. But the thief's accomplice, Zhou Zhanlu, had escaped with the remaining 6,400 yuan (US$771). Zhou was caught last year and tried in Beijing Railway Transportation Court and ordered to return the money to Lu. Dog attacks owners, kills boy A pet dog attacked its owners and killed a boy in Beijing, Beijing Morning Post reported yesterday. The dog had been with the family for more than a year and was described by the family members and neighbours as docile. When the boy's mother returned home last week, she knocked on the door, expecting her son to open the door for her. But the dog suddenly attacked the boy. After hearing her son's cries, the woman climbed over the courtyard fence and tried to save him, but she too was badly bitten. The dog could be controlled only after neighbours rushed to help the woman and her son. The boy died on way to hospital.
|
