"Shock Over Condition of Adopted Puppy... Outrage Erupts Among Chinese Citizens"

Alleged Pet Abuse in Chongqing
Over 100 Citizens Protest for Several Days

An unusual situation has unfolded in China, where hundreds of citizens held a protest after allegations emerged that a man had abused pets. In China, where laws punishing animal abuse are insufficient, calls for new legislation are once again growing louder.

According to Chinese local media outlets, including Guangming Daily and Jiemian News, on June 12, a 39-year-old man surnamed Li, who lives in Chongqing, is suspected of abusing cats and dogs after adopting them for free via social networking services (SNS).

Resident protests that occurred in Chongqing, China. Weibo, Yonhap News

According to reports, the Chongqing Public Security Bureau (police) announced that on the evening of June 8, Li was taken in for questioning on charges of throwing objects from a high floor of his apartment and damaging public property.

However, the public protests did not subside. As the number of participants continued to grow, the scale of the gathering expanded, and on the afternoon of June 9, police detained some of the demonstrators. Nevertheless, many citizens remained in the area late into the night to continue their protest.

Li is suspected of repeatedly adopting cats and dogs for free through SNS and then abusing them. Recently, animal protection volunteers discovered a severely injured puppy in the stairwell of the apartment building where Li resides. The puppy had all four legs fractured, its teeth broken, and its tail severed. The puppy was also reportedly suffering from severe swelling on its head.

Upon hearing the news, volunteers and citizens gathered below Li's residence, holding signs with messages opposing animal abuse. Even after police confiscated the signs, protestors continued to keep vigil at the site throughout the night.

On the morning of June 9, the crowd grew further, with more than 100 people reportedly gathering. Authorities restricted access to the apartment complex for outsiders and began detaining some protestors from the afternoon of June 9. Still, many citizens continued to gather outside the main entrance to the complex that night.

Some citizens claimed that police used violence while detaining protestors. Related videos spread online but were later reported to have been deleted.

China still does not have a law that directly punishes animal abuse. In 2020, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China stated that "animal abuse is an extremely rare occurrence," expressing the position that the issue could be addressed by supplementing existing laws rather than enacting new legislation.

The media noted that although a series of animal abuse cases have occurred in China recently, it is relatively rare for a large-scale citizen protest to be organized over allegations of pet abuse as seen in this case.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.