China Animals
“Where is the Law?” – Heartbreaking Video of Girl Holding Killed Dog Raises Questions
A heartbreaking video showing a weeping girl holding her killed dog has gone viral on Chinese social media, where netizens cry out for a rapid implementation of animal welfare legislation in China.
One young girl from the city of Qujing in Yunnan was heartbroken in December of 2016 when her pet dog was killed by a neighborhood guard with an air gun.
In a video that went viral on Chinese media on January 4/5, the girl is seen holding the dead body of her pet, crying: “Wake up, wake up Kuai Kuai, wake up now.”
The dog reportedly died instantly when it was hit in the heart by a bullet of the air pistol that was in the possession of a neighborhood guard.
The incident was reported by Chinese media platform Pear Video (see video below), among other media.
This video shows the girl crying over her dead dog Kuai Kuai, asking him to wake up. The captions in the screen explain that the dog’s heart was penetrated by an air gun bullet, which is illegal, and that the guard responsible for this was detained for 6 days. It also shows footage of the dog 1 year ago when the girl saved him after a car accident and how he recuperated afterwards.
“Open your eyes, look at me,” the girl says: “It’s me, your sister.”
A year before this fatal incident, the dog had suffered a major car accident and was then saved by the girl and brought to an animal hospital to receive medical care. The Pear Video clip shows that the dog had fully recuperated from his accident- making his sudden death all the more painful for the girl and her mother.
The neighborhood guard, whose name has now been exposed on Chinese social media, has reportedly been detained and released after a 6-day sentence for the illegal possession of a weapon. The air gun has been confiscated.
The video received over 23.000 comments and was shared 17.300 times within 24 hours, become a top trending topic on Chinese social media.
The alleged mother of the girl in the video, nicknamed Houmitao (@
猴迷桃16257) has come forward on Sina Weibo on January 5th in a short post, in which she talks about the dog Kuai Kuai:
“This incident has really hurt me and my young child,” she writes: “This is like a scar that will never heal.”
She also expresses her thanks for all the support and makes it clear that by now she has resolved the issue with the local guard and asks people to stop disturbing him and his family.
“I want to thank you all for condemning the person who killed the innocent Kuai Kuai. She will thank you from heaven, knowing that so many people care for her would make her very happy.”
Houmitao also calls for the official launch of a Chinese law to protect animals:
“I strongly urge the Chinese government to implement an Animal Protection Act as soon as possible. Are civilized countries so cruel to animals, killing cats and dogs? I strongly advocate the implementation of severe punishment for those involved in the black market of dog trading. These are monstrous crimes!”
China currently has no laws against animal cruelty. Although officials have been working on the introduction of an animal protection law in China since 2006, it has not been officially implemented.
Thousands of people on Weibo have commented on the killing of Kuai Kuai, some saying: “This is not just killing a dog, this is killing a little girl’s friend.” Others compare pet dogs to members of the family. “You will understand this if you own a dog yourself,” one person says.
The motives of the security guard for killing the dog are unknown. Some netizens who say they know him call him a renowned “neighbourhood bully.”
Many netizens are also upset over the fact that owning a weapon seemingly has no serious consequences.
“If an old lady sets up an illegal booth she is sentenced to three years, if a guard kills a dog he is sentenced to six days,” one Weibo user says: “I usually don’t speak about politics on Weibo – I am afraid to do in fear to be reprimanded for it. But I cannot constrain myself this time. How is it possible that there is more severe punishment for setting up a vendor stall than for owning a gun, even if it is a toy gun?”
“These kinds of people are like society’s tumors,” another commenter wrote: “Today they kill a dog. Tomorrow they might kill a human.”
– By Manya Koetse
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©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.
China Animals
Outrage over Chinese Food Blogger Torturing Cat in Online Video
Chinese food vlogger Xu Zhihui (徐志辉) was part of a cat abuse chat group on QQ.
A shocking and extremely cruel video in which a Chinese wanghong (online influencer) tortures a stolen cat has sparked outrage on Chinese social media.
The person involved is the Anhui-based food blogger/vlogger Xu Zhihui (徐志辉), who runs multiple accounts, including a Bilibili account with more than 400,000 followers and a Weibo account with over 20,000 fans (@杰克辣条). Xu is mostly known for posting videos of himself cooking and eating food.
The cat abuse incident happened on April 15 in Funan County’s Lucheng, Anhui Province, where the 29-year-old Xu filmed his horrific acts, including tying up the cat, binding it to a tree, cutting its paws, and burning it alive. He then uploaded the video and shared it to a QQ group dedicated to cat abuse. It later circulated around social media, triggering outrage.
According to screenshots that leaked online and the very fact Xu was part of a cruel ‘cat abuse chat group,’ this probably was not the first time for him to torture animals.
According to a police statement, authorities received reports about the stolen cat and the abuse video on April 26th, after which they immediately launched an investigation.
On April 27th, Xu posted an apology on his Weibo channel, in which he said he felt ashamed and sorry for what he did and that he was willing to bear “all the consequences” of his actions. He also wrote that he was being criticized and held accountable by both the public security bureau and Internet authorities. “Please give me another chance,” he wrote. The comments on the post were switched off.
A noteworthy part of Xu’s online apology is that it has a dedicated Weibo hashtag page including a ‘topic summary’ in which Xu apologized. The hashtag page was hosted by Toutiao News. The mix of the personal message by Xu on a hashtag page hosted by Chinese media seems to indicate that these parties worked together in spreading Xu’s words about how remorseful he allegedly is (#偷猫拍虐猫视频网红道歉#).
The comment sections suggest that most people will not forgive Xu for what he did. Many people say the story makes them feel sick to their stomach, and that the idea of ‘cat abuse’ chat groups makes their skin crawl.
“People like this do not change,” one person wrote. “Give you another chance?! Did you give that kitty a chance?!”
“Today he abuses a cat, tomorrow he kills a person. Straight to hell with him,” others wrote: “Go die!”
Xu’s actions are regarded as “negatively impacting society” and he currently is detained in Funan in accordance with the Public Security Administrative Punishments Law. His Bilibili account currently also displays a message that it is getting banned.
Although there are various laws in China regarding wildlife and the protection of animals, there currently is no national law that is explicitly against animal cruelty for all animals. Some legal bloggers explored under which laws Xu could be punished for his actions other than the abuse itself, such as stealing a cat and also uploading such a video to the internet (#虐待无主流浪猫狗或不被处罚#, #公共场合虐待动物并传播视频或犯罪#).
In recent years, voices calling for better laws on animal abuse in China have grown louder. In 2020, after a horrific story of a Chinese security guard pouring scalding water over a cat went viral, Chinese media outlet CCTV called out for a rapid legislation against animal abuse. That same video was shared in light of this incident again.
In 2021, home security cameras captured how anti-epidemic workers beat a pet dog to death in Shangrao. This also caused an online storm over animal abuse during ‘zero Covid.’
“I strongly call for legislation, [we must] defend the bottom line of morality,” some commenters now write: “We will never forgive this.”
By Manya Koetse
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China Animals
Meanwhile in Panda News: Panda Talk during Macron’s China Visit, Yaya Set to Return to China in Late April
Panda updates! From Yaya in Memphis to Qiqi in Shanghai, these are the pandas that went trending this month.
It is time for another update on what’s been going on in panda news recently for this second What’s on Weibo ‘meanwhile in panda news’ column to give you more insights into all the trending panda topics, including the controversies and politics surrounding them.
What’s been trending recently? There has been a lot of panda-related news. The following topics have been trending recently.
◼︎ PANDA TALK DURING MACRON’S CHINA VISIT
Hashtags: #马克龙想续租大熊猫#, #法国博瓦勒动物园想续租大熊猫#
In 1973, Chinese giant pandas Yen Yen and Li Li arrived at Zoo de Vincennes in Paris. The two pandas were gifted to French President Georges Pompidou by Zhou Enlai as part of China’s famous panda diplomacy. (Funny fact: the pair were originally thought to be male and female but were later discovered to be two males.)
Now, exactly fifty years later, President Emmanuel Macron is in China with his delegation. Apart from all the major issues such as EU-China relations and the war in Ukraine, ‘panda politics’ are also on the agenda.
Macron arrived in Beijing on April 5 as part of his state visit to China. Among the delegates and business leaders joining Macron, there is also Rodolphe Delord. Delord is the director of the ZooParc de Beauval, a French zoological park that is one of the largest in Europe.
The pandas Huan Huan (欢欢) and Yuan Zi (圆仔) are currently residing in the park. They arrived in France in 2012 as part of a decade-long research & conservation cooperation project between the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and ZooParc de Beauval. Their arrival was also seen as a warming of China-France relations.
In 2017, they had a baby cub named Yuan Meng. In 2021, Huan Huan again gave birth to twin cubs Huan Lili and Yuan Dudu.
The park previously indicated it would like to lengthen the duration of their agreement so that Yuan Zi and Huan Huan can stay in France for the time to come. They are also called “the stars of Beauval.”
During Macron’s visit, the hashtags “Macron Wants to Renew Giang Panda Lease” (#马克龙想续租大熊猫#) and “French Beauval Zoo Wants to Renew the Giant Panda Lease” went trending (#法国博瓦勒动物园想续租大熊猫#).
The French President apparently has an affinity with pandas. As part of his 40th birthday celebrations, Macron met the baby panda Yuan Meng back in 2017. Macron’s wife Brigitte became the cub’s ‘godmother.’ It has not been reported yet at this point if there already is an agreement about the extended lease.
◼︎ YAYA TO COME HOME IN LATE APRIL
Hashtags: #孟菲斯提醒未经许可直播丫丫违规#, #丫丫#, #孟菲斯动物园将为丫丫举办告别派对#, #丫丫正式移交中方#
Panda Yaya (丫丫), who has been living in America’s Memphis Zoo for two decades, has been a big topic on Chinese social media platforms this year because netizens have been very concerned about her skinny and seemingly unhealthy appearance and how she is being treated in the U.S. (the heightening political tensions between the US and China have not exactly eased these concerns).
According to the American care team, Yaya has been suffering from a chronic skin and fur condition which is related to her immune system and hormonal fluctuations. They claim the condition does not affect her quality of life and that they are closely monitoring Yaya.
Yaya was previously scheduled to return to China in early April of 2023. Yaya’s Memphis Zoo stay was part of a long joint conservation and research project between the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens and the U.S. with an agreement duration of ten years, which was extended by ten more years in 2013.
On April 7, the day that Yaya was allegedly scheduled to leave Memphis, it was reported that Memphis Zoo was organizing a ‘goodbye’ event, giving visitors the time to bid farewell to Yaya before she starts her journey to China at the end of April 2023. A related topic received over 170 million clicks on Weibo on Friday (#孟菲斯动物园将为丫丫举办告别派对#).
On Saturday, Yaya got snacks and even a special cake during the goodbye event, which also included Chinese cultural performances.
Although visitors have been livestreaming Yaya at the Memphis Zoo, Chinese state media reported earlier in April that the zoo reminded visitors not to record livestreams of Yaya as it goes against their policies.
This also became a hot topic on Chinese social media: “[Yaya] needs to be livestreamed, all the way until she returned to China,” some said, with others writing: “It’s not hard to understand why they don’t want Yaya to be livestreamed.”
Some netizens and panda fans are disappointed that they will still have to wait for the female panda to return to China. “Why won’t she come to China before late April? Why why why!?”
Although Yaya fans in China will still need to wait for the panda to return, she has officially been handed over to China and a joint team of American and Chinese carers will prepare her for the big trip home (#丫丫正式移交中方#).
◼︎ WAITING FOR PANDA QIQI’S RETURN FROM HOSPITAL
Hashtags: #七七确诊肠梗阻将进行手术#, #熊猫七七#
While many people are waiting for Yaya’s return, they are also worried about another panda that is Shanghai-based. As one of the most famous pandas living in the Shanghai Wild Animal Park, Qiqi attracted attention on Chinese social media in February of 2023 because of her health problems.
The 4-year-old female panda had a CT scan that showed there was an intestinal blockage, and the panda was rushed to the hospital for surgery.
Funny detail – Dr Wang arrived at work that day and saw Mr. ‘Panda’ on the patient list, he thought it was a patient named ‘Panda’ (Xiong Mao) until he discovered it was an actual panda getting a CT scan. “We’re a regular hospital,” he said: “Our patients are usually all humans.”
Although intestinal blockage is not common, Qiqi’s older brother Ya’ao (雅奥), who also lived at the park, died of the same condition in March of 2022.
After the surgery, Qiqi received further treatment. According to the latest news at this time, Qiqi has stabilized and is no longer in life danger.
Many Qiqi fans and panda lovers are now waiting for new pictures showing a Qiqi who has, hopefully, fully recovered. “Why haven’t we received more updates?” some wonder.
Read more panda news here.
By Manya Koetse
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