Story By: Buli Liang, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

These images show a cruel photographer hanging a helpless cat in the air by its neck for a photo shoot which has sparked widespread outrage online.

Photographer Lele caused controversy after releasing the series of children’s photos from the city of Changchun in northeastern China’s Jilin Province.

In the images, a young boy can be seen holding a bunch of flowers as a cat is seemingly jumping up to smell them.

The photographer later posted the behind-the-scenes shots to show how the photo was created.

In the images, a man can be seen holding a flexible metal rod which has been tied to the cat’s neck.

He is holding the cat in the air with the rod, with the moggy suspended by its neck.

Another image shows the man holding the cat up to flowers in his hands, and the photographer reportedly combined the images to come up with the final photo.

The images quickly caused outrage among netizens and animal rights groups. The photographer deleted the series from her social media account and despite issuing an apology, she does not believe she abused the animal.

PETA Asia press officer, Keith Guo told Asia Wire: “These are shameful skills for a children’s photographer. Animals are not props for taking pictures, not to mention the negative impact to that scared boy. Cats are sensitive animals and dragging them into the air can cause severe shock.

“It’s important to capture sweet memories, but not by abusing an innocent cat in front of children. PETA urges the photographer to promise that she won’t use any more animals in the future.”

The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.