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A three-year-old pet Samoyed was beaten to death by anti-epidemic workers in China while his owners were away in quarantine, according to a post written by one of the pet owners on Weibo dated Mar. 4.

The dog, called "Snowball", was allegedly killed on Mar. 2 at the owners' home in the city of Huizhou in Guangdong province.

Dog killed on camera

While the video of the incident could no longer be found on the pet owner's Weibo page, the same video was posted by another Chinese internet user on Twitter.

In the video, the dog could be heard barking at the workers first when they entered, before squealing in pain when the workers started raining blows on it using a stick.

Loud thuds could be heard when the rod made contact with the dog's body.

As the beating went on, the dog's whines grew softer and weaker, until he could no longer be heard making any sound.

Killed on same day owners went away to be isolated

Snowball's owners had left their home on the same day that he was killed -- the Weibo user's boyfriend had tested positive for Covid-19 on the morning of Mar. 2, and she was placed under quarantine as she was considered a close contact.

In her post, the pet owner said Snowball was "beaten to death" using rods.

"For the past two days and two nights, we've been living in endless guilt and pain. We've raised our dog for three years and three months and see him as part of our family, but he actually died such a painful death in his own home," she wrote.

She emphasised that everything that happened in her home had been recorded by surveillance camera, and that her entire account was truthful without a single lie.

She further said that as of Mar. 4, the authorities had yet to inform them that their dog had been "dealt with", adding that if not for the surveillance camera, they wouldn't have known what happened to their dog.  She also said she doesn't know where Snowball's body was taken to after he was killed.

Questioned if their pet dog really had to be killed

In her post, the pet owner questioned if the epidemic prevention workers had the relevant permit that allowed them to kill her dog, and why her dog had to be killed when experts have already said pet dogs and cats could simply be quarantined as there is insufficient evidence at the moment that they could spread the Covid-19 virus.

She also asked why the authorities didn't allow alternative arrangements to be discussed when she pled repeatedly for her dog to be quarantined together with her, adding that the only answer she received was that "the result could not be interfered with".

She further raised examples of other cities arranging for workers to visit pets in their homes to feed them while their owners were away on quarantine, asking why the Huizhou government couldn't do the same.

In her post, she also attached screenshots of the text exchange she had with the worker.

The worker asked her a number of questions about her dog, such as his size and whether he bites people.  While she had answered "no" at the time, she later wondered if things could have turned out differently if she had said "yes".

From the conversation, the owner had appeared to be under the impression that her dog was just going to be tested for Covid-19.

The post, which has since been shared more than 11,000 times, had gathered considerable attention among other social media users, who joined in the calls for the local government to give a satisfactory explanation as to why they had made the decision to kill the pet.

Authorities apologised

The local authorities have since issued a statement in response to the public outrage, confirming that Snowball had indeed been killed. They apologised for the incident as well.

In the statement, they said that there was a need to undertake a "complete disinfection" of the warehouse and the surrounding areas as one of the residents had tested positive for Covid-19.

"There was an adult Samoyed in the warehouse which weighed around 22.5kg. As the dog was exposed to a Covid-19 positive environment for an extended period of time, its likelihood of getting infected is very high," the statement read.

"During the emergency process, the workers present at the scene utilised an inappropriately coarse method to deal with the dog, and seriously harmed the feelings of the dog owners."

The statement ended with the authorities saying they had already apologised "sincerely" to the pet owners, and that on top of being censured, the workers involved would be suspended from work as well.

Not the first time

Previously, a pet corgi was also killed by epidemic prevention workers in Jiangxi province while the owner was away on quarantine at a local hotel that did not allow pets.

Such incidents have led people to question whether China's zero-Covid strategy is viable in the long term, considering the hefty social cost, although its effectiveness at keeping infection rates in China low had been acknowledged.

The culling of pets had not been limited to mainland China, with local officials shooting dead a group of dogs in New South Wales, Australia, as they wanted to prevent them from coming into contact with animal shelter volunteers who were due to pick them up, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Hong Kong authorities had also ordered hamsters in pet shops to be killed, sparking protests from local residents and animal activists.

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Top image adapted via Weibo