China coronavirus: apology after officials beat pet dog to death with iron bar after breaking into home of woman in quarantine while she watched on CCTV

A woman in eastern China spoke with government workers about her pet dog before entering quarantine to ensure it would be cared for

She then watched in horror on her home security cameras as the workers broke into her home and beat the dog to death with an iron rod

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As China battles to contain new coronavirus outbreaks, reports of pets being killed when owners go into quarantine or hospital have been on the rise. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 6:00pm, 15 Nov 2021Updated: 1:19am, 16 Nov 2021

A local government in China has apologised after its workers broke into the home of a woman in Covid-19 quarantine and beat her dog to death with an iron rod.

It is the latest coronavirus-related pet-killing incident under Beijing’s strict zero case strategy, and follows claims earlier this month by a woman in Chengdu, southwestern China, that her cats were killed by local authorities after she went into quarantine. In September a woman in northeastern China reported her three cats had been killed after testing positive for the virus.

On Friday, the pet owner from Shangrao, Jiangxi province, eastern China, wrote on Weibo that her whole residential compound was told to quarantine at a local hotel without their pets. She claimed that she confirmed with community staff several times that her dog wouldn’t be taken away or killed.

One of three cats owned by a Covid-19 patient in Harbin that were diagnosed with the disease, and put down. Photo: Weixin.qq.com

That afternoon, she saw workers break into her house and beat it with an iron rod through her home security CCTV camera.

“The dog ran into another room and out of sight, but whimpers could be heard. After a few minutes, they took out yellow plastic bags and said they would take the dog away,” according to her post on Weibo, which has since been deleted.

The local government apologised over the weekend and said the staff involved had been removed from their current roles.