A Covid worker beat a dog to death in Shanghai after its owner tested positive
"We would rather coexist with a virus than with this vicious and perverted person."
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Hong Kong (CNN)A pet dog was beaten to death by a health worker in Shanghai in an incident that sparked fury online, offering a glimpse into the growing frustrations of locked-down residents in China's Covid-19 hotspot.
A video of the beating at a residential compound in the Pudong district of the city was met with horror after going viral Wednesday on Chinese social media.
The clip, which appears to have been filmed by a resident of a nearby building, shows a Covid prevention worker -- dressed head to toe in protective gear -- chasing the corgi down a street and hitting it three times with a shovel. It then shows the dog lying motionless.
In two photos posted online, the corgi is seen running after a bus said to be taking its owner to an isolation facility. Another photo shows its body being taken away in a plastic bag.
The video and photos have been reposted and deleted by multiple users. CNN cannot identify the original uploader of the video.
The corgi's owner was in quarantine at the time of the attack, according to state-run magazine China News Weekly, and had released the dog onto the streets after being unable to find anyone to care for the animal in his absence.
All of Shanghai's 25 million residents are under lockdown until further notice and face several rounds of mass testing. Those who test positive face mandatory isolation.
"In the end, I thought I could let (the corgi) loose outside to become a stray, at least it wouldn't starve to death," the owner wrote in an online group, explaining he had no dog food left at home, according to China News Weekly. "I never thought once we had left, it would be beaten to death."
He claimed a neighborhood committee had declined to help care for the dog, the magazine reported. The committee said it was concerned the corgi could have been infected too.
"At that time, the workers did not consider (the matter) very comprehensively. We will communicate with the owner and offer compensation later," the committee said in response, according to China News Weekly.
CNN has made several attempts to contact the committee.
The incident spread widely across Chinese social media platform Weibo. One hashtag about the topic was viewed tens of millions of times before it was removed from the highly censored site. The footage prompted shock and anger, with many calling the dog's killing cruel and unnecessary.
International health authorities have said the risk of transmission from animals to humans is possible but low, and there is no evidence that animals are playing a significant role in the spread of Covid-19 to humans.
And China's National Health Commission has stated there is so far no evidence of people catching Covid from pets.
"What use is compensation? That is a life," said one popular post on Weibo.
"Pets are family too," another user wrote -- a sentiment echoed by many others.
Some even voiced something once considered unthinkable within the country: that China's zero-Covid battle had gone too far.
Throughout the pandemic, China has adhered to a zero-Covid policy that aims to stamp out all clusters and chains of transmission through border controls, mass testing, quarantines and strict lockdowns. It has at times resorted to extreme measures, including separating infected toddlers from parents and barring residents from leaving their homes for weeks on end.
This policy has been broadly popular among the public, with many feeling it was necessary to avoid the high death tolls and economic collapses seen in other countries like the United States or the United Kingdom.
This isn't the first time a pet has been killed for fear it carries the virus. Three cats met the same fate last September, and another corgi last November. However, at the time, reaction on social media was mixed -- though some expressed sympathy and anger, others argued killing the animals was necessary given the pandemic.
This time, the reaction appears vastly different, with most comments online condemning the killing -- perhaps a sign of the public's thinning patience as living conditions deteriorate under lockdown.
Many Shanghai residents have complained of being unable to access basic supplies like food and medicine. There have been incidents reported of non-Covid patients with other emergencies dying before they could receive medical attention. And these frustrations have only been exacerbated by mixed messaging from Shanghai's government, which had insisted just two weeks ago that it had no plans for a citywide lockdown.
For some, the corgi's death was the last straw.
One Weibo user mocked the neighborhood committee's response: "It's been two years, and they still think (the corgi) has the virus. Are these people not from Earth?"
Another user put it more bluntly:
This time, the reaction appears vastly different, with most comments online condemning the killing -- perhaps a sign of the public's thinning patience as living conditions deteriorate under lockdown.
Many Shanghai residents have complained of being unable to access basic supplies like food and medicine. There have been incidents reported of non-Covid patients with other emergencies dying before they could receive medical attention. And these frustrations have only been exacerbated by mixed messaging from Shanghai's government, which had insisted just two weeks ago that it had no plans for a citywide lockdown.
For some, the corgi's death was the last straw.
One Weibo user mocked the neighborhood committee's response: "It's been two years, and they still think (the corgi) has the virus. Are these people not from Earth?"
Another user put it more bluntly: "We would rather coexist with a virus than with this vicious and perverted person."
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The never ending lockdowns are causing more and more division.
Unfortunately for the Chinese people, zero covid is a XI policy and in totalitarian countries controlled by the whims of a single man irrational policies will be pursued against all reason. The Shanghai lockdown and invasion of Ukraine being two recent examples.
As the article indicates, the response of millions of Chinese people, and myself included, is anger at the incident I'm sure was considered by you to be a desireable topic to post. Stupid people and those who may over-react are all over the world.
Personally I support the zero-covid policy. At the beginning of the pandemic the area where I live was locked down and various measures are still taken, such as masking on transport, temp-testing before entering certain places like banks, and from all the people I know here I have never heard a complaint about it. There will always be people who complain about anything, good or bad. The vast majority of Chinese people are much happier with lockdowns and the zero-covid policy than with what has been happening elsewhere, as stated in the article:
So if the choice is inconvenience or death, I think the Chinese people generally choose Inconvenience. Most Chinese people traditionally value the good of the community and of their loved ones above petty self-interest.
"Many Shanghai residents have complained of being unable to access basic supplies like food and medicine."
Sure. Food and medicine are just conveniences.
The dog's owners chose to leave the dog outside because they thought it would starve to death otherwise. That's a breakdown in civilization. And it's going to keep happening over and over because the virus China let loose upon the world isn't going away.
Morning Buzz..hmmm yes lock downs work to a certain extent and then comes a time to call it quits...
Melbourne was the most locked down city in the world, but once the new variant arrived it was pointless as China will find out.
Life is all back to normal here, only wear a mask in hospitals, public transport and that's about it.
Everything is open including the borders and everything is going full bore including the economy.
Yes on average 10 people a day are losing the battle for life and approx 10,000 infections a day in Victoria... around 300 in hospital...we are one of the most vaccinated countries in the world and the fourth vaccination is now available...
From what I have read the Chinese vac is not particularly effective and only around 60% of the elderly have been vaccinated?? And that is where it strikes most...
So yes lock downs do work in the respect it gives time to prepare for the onslaught and since this bloody virus appeared 2.5 years ago we have lost 5,500 souls...but the time comes when lock downs are no longer relevant and it is time to as they said...to live with it..
Stay safe...
Nobody is going to starve to death. Nobody starved to death in Xi'an, nobody starved to death where I live when it was locked down, and nobody is going to starve to death in Shanghai. I have watched news videos of supplies being shipped there from all over China and of volunteers delivering food to the residents - FREE food. You should know better than anyone that no matter what the situation, there will always be some people who bitch.
I don't intend to "live with it" and as far as I'm concerned they can keep locking down where the surges arise. Time will tell what is the best solution.
You too. Did you know that another Aussie just signed up with NT?
Err no...now you will have two you will help in translating with...do you know the avitar?
I just sent you a PN.
Got it thank you..
Didn't Psaki say that even a kiss isn't contagious, as long as it's under 15 minutes?
This takes a special kind of cruelty. Evil has taken over this person.