Draft rules by Chinese authorities that specify dogs as “companion animals” rather than livestock were hailed by a rights group Thursday as an “encouraging” step towards ending the dog meat trade in the country.

China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs published a list of animals that can be traded for meat Wednesday that included pigs, cows, chickens and sheep, but excluded dogs and cats.

The new list also specified that livestock refers to animals that have been domesticated and bred by people for a long time in order to provide products such as meat, eggs and fur.

China in recent weeks banned the sale of wild animals for food, citing the risk of diseases spreading from animals to humans.