(Photo : Photo by NOEL CELIS / AFP) (Photo by NOEL CELIS/AFP via Getty Images)
A man wearing a hazmat suit walks along a street in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province on April 14, 2020.
China is receiving widespread criticism after reports of animal brutality in the region have surfaced, with one instance being a healthcare worker beating a dog to death while it was inside its owner's home as the latter was in quarantine.
The incident that has garnered massive scrutiny online was the one where a dog owner named Ms. Fu saw, thru her home security camera system, people who were wearing hazmat suits enter her home. The group of individuals then started beating her pet corgi to death using iron roads while Fu was kept inside a quarantine facility. The owner of the dog that was killed later tested negative for the coronavirus.
Dog Beaten to Death
In an extensive social media post, Fu wrote that their dog had gone into another room that cameras were unable to capture. However, the individual said that their pet's whimpers were audible through the security system. Shortly after, the workers in hazmat suits took out yellow plastic bags and said that they would be taking the dog away.
Fu uploaded her security footage onto China's social media site, Weibo, where it has become viral among online users. The video attracted millions of views from people who have criticized how healthcare workers disposed of cats and dogs amid extreme COVID prevention tactics, NPR reported.
Local authorities in the Asian country have been placed under immense pressure to quickly stomp the spread of the coronavirus as the region suffers from continued outbreaks. The primary cause of the surge is associated with the highly contagious Delta variant. Currently, there are more than 1,300 cases that officials have recorded in roughly two-thirds of provinces in China.
Many people have begun arguing about animal rights due to the shock and anger regarding the brutal killing of the dog. It also shows the extent to how China's government holds uncontrolled power and how it can still grow during the pandemic sacrificing individual rights.
Chinese authorities have placed the area where the dog was killed under lockdown due to a surge of confirmed coronavirus infections. Officials mandated all residents in the area to undergo government quarantine on Friday. They were not allowed to bring their pets with them, Fu said on Weibo, CNN reported.
China's Legislation
After the incident, a Chinese city official apologized for the brutality of the act and said that the employee has been removed from their position. Under Chinese law, animals that are found to be infected with viruses are allowed to be killed during pandemics. However, the legislation only extends to livestock, such as cows and pigs. But last month, the state-run Global Times newspaper said that the legislation would also permit the killing of domestic animals.
Despite the fear of animals spreading the disease to humans, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health authorities have argued that it was highly unlikely.
The official Weibo account for Shangrao city, located in the eastern Jiangxi province, apologized for not telling the woman of their decision to kill her pet. They added that workers only discovered there was a dog in the unit when they went inside to disinfect the area, Business Insider reported.
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