Dog on a wire: Car owner in China apologises for 'causing distress' as photo of pet suspended from vehicle window spreads online
Family disposing of animal didn't want to dirty up interior, vehicle owner says after outcry
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 05 November, 2015, 6:00pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 05 November, 2015, 7:08pm
Zhuang Pinghui
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The photo that appeared on social media said to be taken in Xiangtan city in Hunan province this week. Photo: SCMP Pictures
A photo of a dog hanging by a wire outside a car window triggered public anger in China, leading the vehicle’s owner to offer a public apology for causing people distress, a news portal has reported.
The image went viral on the mainland, where public awareness about animal rights is increasing, but remains limited compared to what's found in the West.
The photo was taken by a woman driver stopped behind the car at a red light in Xiangtan city in Hunan province on Tuesday night, according to Xtol.cn.
“It was hard to tell whether the dog was dead or alive but even if it was alive, it wouldn’t be after being tied like that,” the woman said.
Outraged, she took a photo and posted it to social media, where it circulated widely. The news portal contacted the car owner – who said a relative had borrowed the vehicle to dispose of the dog. The family member didn’t want to dirty up the interior and so tied the animal to the outside.
The report did not say whether the dog was dead at the time.
The woman said she had received threatening telephone calls since the photo appeared online, presumably from people belonging to China’s controversial “human flesh search engine” – internet users who comb online information sources to find out a person’s identity and contact details.
The car owner apologised for causing distress, the report said.
China’s treatment of animals, especially ones kept as pets, has drawn criticism before. An annual dog-meat festival in Yulin in the south lowered its profile this summer after previous events drew hundreds of campaigners who clashed with locals.
Cages of dogs are delivered at a market in Yulin, a long tradition in the southern Chinese city. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Defenders of eating dog meat argue it’s a tradition found throughout Asia, and outsiders are unfairly imposing their own cultural views.
But the animal rights movement within China is increasingly becoming propelled by activists who themselves are locals and argue treating animals with respect is a universal value.
