Chinese COVID-19 workers kill a woman’s dog with rods while disinfecting her home. The death of a pet dog in China while its owner was undergoing Covid-19 quarantine has sparked uproar online. It resulted in the removal of a health worker.
The incident occurred in Shangrao, Jiangxi province. The video footage from the scene appeared to show one of the Covid health employees. The employee was sanitizing the woman’s flat while striking the dog with a crowbar.
Her security camera caught it on tape while the COVID-19 workers kill the woman’s dog.
The owner shared the video on social media. She claimed she was quarantining her pet in a hotel that did not allow pets.
Local officials issued a statement apologizing for the event and claiming that they fired one of the health professionals. But that the dog had the subject of a “harmless disposal”. (Valium)
The Shangrao neighborhood, where the dog’s owner lived, is a Covid-19 controlled area. Hence, requiring people to quarantine their homes while health professionals cleansed them.
The incident has fueled criticism of China’s “zero-Covid” strategy. It saw local authorities respond to individual incidents promptly with major testing, tracing, localized lockdowns, including involuntary quarantine for people.
Citizen’s privacy
On China’s Weibo site, which is similar to Twitter, the attack on the dog provoked fury among social media users. Social media took down the dog owner’s original post. But the video had more than millions of views. The event was one of the top trending topics on Weibo on Sunday.
Among the most liked posts were one that read; “Who gave them the right to break into her home and kill her dog?”
Another said: “This is a violation of a citizen’s privacy and the security of her property!”
And also one Weibo user wrote: “Pets are an owner’s private property and they cannot be culled without permission! Even if culling is necessary, there needs to be a solid, scientific basis for it!”
The Shangrao dog is not the first animal to be slaughtered in China after its owner was quarantined. There was also a murder of cats belonging to a Chengdu homeowner earlier this month after testing positive for Covid-19.
Three cats in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, were reportedly euthanized in September while their owner was in quarantine. They didn’t undergo testing for the disease.