At a Beijing dog pound, row after row of dogs stare out of wire cages. Some are marked “unregistered.” Others carry signs that they exceed the city’s height limit.

In a city where it is forbidden to own more than one dog, where all must be registered, and any that are taller than 14 inches are banished, these are the targets of a crackdown on illegal dog behavior.

Since October, 29,000 unregistered dogs have been impounded as officials make door-to-door searches in an attempt, they say, to tackle rabies and antisocial ownership. “Barking and other disturbances have become a serious problem,” Yu Hongyuan of the Beijing canine management office said. “To alleviate the problems and make rabies prevention more effective, the municipal government has launched a campaign on becoming a good dog owner. “But dog-lovers say the measures are cruel because they remove pets on minor technicalities. Officials were unrepentant, saying that as dog ownership has surged among the newly wealthy middle class, so have complaints of biting and barking.

However, the head of Animals Asia, a Hong Kong-based charity, Jill Robinson, said: “The government has to take some responsibility for the fact that the rules have been ignored. There are pet shops and pet markets all over the place that are selling large-size dogs, and no one has cracked down,” she said.