Dog jumps out of plane cargo hold and runs loose at China airport
The golden retriever was badly injured after it took eight members of staff more than 40 minutes to catch it at Wuhan international airport
A dog was badly injured after it got out of its cage on an aircraft, jumped out of the cargo door and ran loose at an airport in central China, according to Chinese media reports.
It took eight members of staff more than 40 minutes to capture the dog at Wuhan airport in Hubei province after it escaped from the flight from Shanghai.
The golden retriever’s owner said excessive force was used to catch and restrain his pet.
“My golden retriever, flying with me, landed at [Wuhan] Tianhe airport and was severely assaulted. I wish China Eastern Airlines and Tianhe Airport would give me a reasonable explanation and stop shifting responsibility,” he wrote on social media.
His comments were shared 110,000 times.
Internet users questioned whether it was justified to treat the dog so roughly while restraining it.
Vets found the animal had multiple abdominal and eye injuries after it was caught.
Wuhan Tianhe International Airport posted a statement saying the dog had to be caught and restrained under its emergency response measures.
“In order to prevent the dog from running loose on airport runways or car parks, which could result in severe casualties, airport employees carried out restraining measures based on aviation laws and regulations,” the statement said.
No details were given about how the dog got out of its cage.
