And finally… ruff justice

Dog owners in the city of Shaoxing are being issued with licenses pre-loaded with 12 points – these are gradually docked every time a transgression occurs according to the Qianjiang Evening News.

Under the rules, three points will be taken where a dog is taken into a public place such as a restaurant or school, while six points will be removed for “failing to take effective measures” to stop a dog from behaving badly.

Owners who use their pets to cause damage or those who abuse or abandon them will be stripped of all their points and banned from re-applying for a license.

City official Zhang Zhuoming said: “Like drink-driving and other bad behaviour, dog owners will be blacklisted, and won’t be able to raise dogs again.”

The paper reported that Shaoxing had over 7,000 dog biting incidents last year.

On social media microblogging site, Sina Weibo, one user asked: “Can a marking scheme for civil servants also be implemented?”