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Recently, the railway department has piloted the high-speed rail pet transport service of "isolated transportation, separation of people and pets, and dedicated care" on some trains of the Beijing Shanghai high-speed railway, which has sparked public discussion. This service is seen as a response to the long-term demands of pet owners, reflecting the keeping up with the times of public transportation services.

On April 10th, in Beijing, a Cocker Spaniel was waiting for a train. Visual China Map

The White Paper on China's Pet Industry in 2025 shows that the number of pets will exceed 120 million by 2024. With the continuous expansion of the pet breeding population, the construction of a "pet friendly society" has become a topic of the times. As pets gradually become emotionally valuable members of the "furry child" group, special working dogs such as guide dogs and psychological comfort dogs form symbiotic relationships with specific groups, and carrying pets for travel has become an essential need that cannot be ignored.

In the past, when it came to moving or traveling long distances, the biggest headache for pet owners was how to travel with their beloved pets. Especially during holidays, if the owner wants to travel, whether to bring a pet or not, and how to place the pet if not, has become a concern for many people. Although there are also ways of "pet travel" such as air transport and carpooling, overall, there are still problems such as cumbersome procedures, high fees, and low popularity.

Therefore, the pilot project of pet transportation service on high-speed rail is not only a practical response to the demand for pet travel, but also a positive exploration of the public service system moving towards a more refined direction. It provides vivid practical examples for the harmonious coexistence of humans and animals in modern civilized society.

But it should also be noted that not everyone is a pet enthusiast. Where is the boundary of "pets entering public spaces" and how should the rules be established? This has also sparked many controversial incidents in the past.

For this time, although pets are transported in isolation and separated from humans and pets on the high-speed rail, some people are concerned that pet hair in enclosed carriages may cause allergies, barking, and disturb other passengers. Some netizens bluntly said, "Should my allergic constitution be deprived of the right to ride high-speed rail?" There are also voices questioning whether the price of 185 yuan per pet ticket is reasonable and whether it will squeeze the already tight transportation capacity during holidays.

The emergence of these debates is essentially an inevitable phenomenon in the process of building a "pet friendly society", and also reminds that any social change must balance the rights and interests of all parties. Only by constantly improving the details through rational discussion and being prepared for possible problems can new things and services be more effectively introduced to the public and accepted by more people.

To truly land pets on high-speed trains, a balance needs to be found between "warmth" and "rationality": firstly, the design of rules needs to be more refined. We can learn from the experience of the aviation industry, clarify the list of banned pets, mandate immunization certificates, and implement a mechanism for evaluating pet behavior; The carriage is equipped with independent ventilation and disinfection equipment to reduce hygiene risks.

Secondly, the division of responsibilities must be clear and explicit. For potential pet disturbances or even injuries to other passengers, a "pet credit system" can be introduced to include those who disrupt high-speed rail order in credit records, and a "pet accident insurance" can be established to share risks.

Thirdly, public discussions cannot be absent. Policy makers should gather opinions from all parties through hearings, questionnaire surveys, and other means, such as keeping pets out of the carriage for people with allergies, dynamically adjusting ticket prices, and allocating transportation capacity. Last year, the China Railway Customer Service Center launched the "Railway Passenger High speed Rail Pet Transport Survey Questionnaire", which sparked widespread discussion and laid a good foundation for the implementation of this policy.

The beginning of everything is difficult. The fact that pets can take high-speed trains and the related policy debates around pet travel are just a microcosm of the continuous progress of social civilization. When public services shift from "meeting the needs of the majority" to "respecting every category of people", the logic of policy formulation also needs to be upgraded from "simple control" to "complex governance". An inclusive society should not have only a human perspective, but the improvement of rules can make coexistence better.