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Recently, a pet corgi was bludgeoned to death with a spade by a pandemic worker in a white hazmat suit in Shanghai.

Owners infected with Covid-19

Videos of the incident were uploaded to Chinese social media and messaging platform WeChat, where it went viral, and the cruelty in the footage sparked a public outcry.

The poster reportedly witnessed the incident when it occurred.

在上海，因狗主人新冠阳性，一只柯基犬被虐打致死

In Shanghai, a corgi was beaten to death after its owner tested positive for COVID-19@TGTM_Official @China_Silly #大翻译运动 #TheGreatTranslationMovement#偉大な翻訳運動 #Grandmouvementdetraduction pic.twitter.com/jAQ6FoTd8y

— 海底撈在逃蝦滑 (@littleChooChoo) April 6, 2022

These videos were seen by Mothership on Apr. 6, but at the time of writing, are no longer available as WeChat said it "violates regulations".

The incident is still being actively discussed on WeChat.

According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), the owners of the pet corgi had to serve their isolation in a quarantine centre as they had tested positive for Covid-19.

Corgi left on the streets

Before their quarantine, the owners were torn between either keeping the corgi at home, where it could starve to death, or letting it run loose outside, where it could hopefully be taken in and cared for by someone, or at least scavenge for food from the streets.

They released the corgi, as they were unsure of how long they would have to stay in quarantine, shortly before a grey and white chartered minibus came to transport them to a quarantine centre.

Once outside, the owners changed their minds and wanted to bring the corgi back home, but they had to reportedly leave the corgi outside as they were not allowed to return home according to What's on Weibo.

The owners were taken away in the minibus, and the corgi can be seen chasing after the vehicle for a short distance in those now-deleted videos of the incident.

Corgi beaten to death

In another video, which reportedly took place five minutes later, a person in a white protective hazmat suit can be seen walking up to the corgi with a long object that looked like a spade.

The corgi can be seen lying on the ground unmoving after the person delivered the first blow with the spade. The person, identified as a gate guard for the complex, struck the corgi two more times.

***WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO BELOW***

@AP @cnni @BBCNewsAsia @nytimesworld @realEmperorPooh @xinwendiaocha now happening in Shanghai, a welsh corgi was beaten to death because its owner was test positive for COVID-19 and was brought to the centralized quarantine area. Please spread out!!! This is so heartbreaking. pic.twitter.com/NimePgGGMf

— Frank Chen (@imFrankchen) April 6, 2022

In the photos after, a person in a white protective hazmat suit believed to be the gate guard who struck the dog can be seen leaning on a spade next to the corgi's carcass and a pool of blood.

Video veracity and incident confirmed

AFP verified the videos' authenticity in a later report on Apr. 7.

AFP further confirmed the incident by quoting a state-run Shanghai media outlet which reported a neighbourhood committee had admitted to culling the corgi as it might be infected with Covid-19, and they were "afraid of being infected".

The neighbourhood committee acted out of fear and conceded that the act was "thoughtless".

SCMP quoted the local official in charge of the community’s affairs, who said: "We did not fully consider the issue, and we have told the dog’s owner that we will discuss compensation with him later."

Not the first time

This is not the first such incident in China.

Just slightly more than a month ago, a similar incident was reported on Mar. 4, where a three-year-old pet Samoyed was beaten to death by anti-epidemic workers while his owners were away in quarantine.

More recently, on Mar. 29, officials from the Anci District of Langfang city in northern China reportedly ordered the killing of all indoor pets belonging to Covid-19 positive patients in the neighbourhood on Mar. 29.

However, the culling was stopped at 5pm on the day itself.

Covid-19 situation in China

Since the pandemic, China has adopted a zero-Covid-19 policy, resulting in venues shutting down abruptly and whole cities grinding to a standstill and going into lockdown.

Covid-19 infected positive patients are also shuttled to quarantine facilities, where they are isolated from most of society in a bid to clamp down on widespread transmission.

One of the more recent examples is Shanghai, where the incident occurred and also China's new epicentre for the latest Covid-19 outbreak where it recorded 19,982 cases on Apr. 7, according to SCMP.

The city went into what was supposed to be a two-week lockdown on Mar. 28, but it was extended indefinitely on Apr. 5 until further notice.

Shanghai is the largest city in China, and with a population of 26 million, Chinese state media outlets have described this as the biggest and most extensive lockdown since the shutdown of Wuhan in 2020.

Frustration is mounting amongst the city's residents as they run through their depleting stock of essentials and food while struggling to replenish their supplies through delivery platforms.

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Top image from @sachinobo/Twitter