Seven cats enough to put balance of rights out of kilter

RESIDENTS of a community in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei province, recently complained that one of the neighbors raised seven cats and let them live alone in an apartment, which caused a bad smell throughout the building. Thepaper.cn comments:

The residents complained about the bad smell, while the cats’ owner said he had the right to raise pets. When the other residents called the urban management office, the office said they could prohibit people from raising cattle or poultry at home, but not cats or dogs.

True, there is no law forbidding people from having cats or dogs in a community. Although some community management companies might pass regulations that require pet owners to avoid disturbing other residents. However, these regulations have only limited power.

Thus the dispute is a collision of rights. Pet owners have the right to own pets, while their neighbors have the right to not be disturbed by people’s pets. What is the solution? The answer lies in people not abusing their rights. Simply put, that means people have rights but those should not infringe upon the rights of others.

In the case in Wuhan, there are a few questions that need to be answered: Is the cats’ owner intentionally disturbing other residents? How much inconvenience have his neighbors suffered because of his pets? According to reports, the neighbors have not suffered too much.

The local police have said they will mediate in the dispute. But a dispute could have been avoided if each side showed some courtesy to the other. When people live in the same community, especially the same building, it is necessary for them to act with consideration toward others.