Story By: Buli Liang, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
These images show the cats and dogs which have reportedly been thrown from tower blocks in China after a rumour circulated claiming that the animals spread the coronavirus.
One dog was found dead after allegedly being thrown from a tower block in the Heyuan Guohe Garden area of Tianjin City in China’s Hebei Province.
Local media report the pooch was thrown from the upper floors of a tower block at 4am and it hit smashed the sunroof of a car before ending up on the ground.
Reports state the sound of the dog hitting the car woke neighbours up as it sounded like a tyre explosion.
They then found the found lying dead on the ground with its blood staining the bricks.
The owner of the dog has not been identified while the vehicle owner is waiting for the police to name them so they receive compensation for the damage done to the car.
Reports state five cats were thrown to death in the city of Shanghai, with locals believing they were pets as they had smooth and clean fur. Their owner has not been identified.
The incidents come after Dr Li Lanjuan said in an interview on China Central Television : “If pets come into contact with suspected patients, they should be quarantined.”
However, a local media outlet named Zhibo China reportedly tweaked her words into “cats and dogs can spread the coronavirus”. The rumour spread quickly shortly after Zhibo China post it on social media platform Weibo.
To try to put an end to the rumour, China Global Television Network’s official Weibo account quoted from the World Health Organization (WHO) “There is no evidence showing that pets such as cats and dogs can contract the novel coronavirus, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday in one of its responses to people’s concerns over the recent virus outbreak. The organization suggested washing hands with soap and water to prevent other germs from transmitting between humans and animals.”
PETA Asia press officer for China, Keith Guo, told Asia Wire “We hope the police can find the cold-blooded guardians of those poor animals as soon as possible.
“In fact, it’s the filthy factory farms, slaughterhouses, and meat markets that threaten the health of every human being on the planet by providing a breeding ground for deadly diseases like coronavirus, SARS, bird flu, and more.”
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