Hong Kong SPCA cancels fundraiser amid backlash over bid to remove dog-killing videos
Charity accused of undermining public awareness efforts after asking Hong Kong police to help remove videos of dog and pups set alight
An animal welfare charity has apologised and cancelled its major fundraising event this weekend after facing a backlash over its request to Hong Kong police to remove videos of a dog and its pups being killed in mainland China, with critics accusing the group of undermining efforts to raise public awareness of the case.
The Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said in a statement on Thursday night that it sincerely apologised “for the concerns caused by the shortcomings in how [it] handled and explained [its] follow-up actions”.
It added that, in light of the backlash, it would cancel its annual Flag Day, originally scheduled for July 18.
Footage circulating online in recent weeks appeared to show at least four boys, whom authorities later said were all under the age of 14, beating a nursing stray dog and her puppies in Jieyang, Guangdong province, before setting the mother alight.
In the SPCA’s first social media post about the incident on Tuesday, the group said it was “deeply saddened and outraged” by the killing of the dog and its puppies. It also called for stronger animal protection laws and greater education on respecting life.
Although the incident was outside the jurisdiction of Hong Kong police, the group said it had reported the matter to the force, which replied that it would ask Threads and YouTube to remove the videos.