Chinese health officials killed a possibly corona-positive dog while its owner was in a quarantine hotel.
Several media outlets covered the incident, including the news outlets NPR and CNN.
In Shangrao in central China, the owners of a dog were instructed to go to a quarantine hotel last week.
A corona case had previously been found in their residential complex - according to the government's strict zero-tolerance policy, all residents must then isolate themselves.
While the family was in quarantine, health officials gained access to the apartment - apparently to disinfect it.
A surveillance camera then recorded how one of the officials dressed in full-body protective suits hit the dog's head with a crowbar.
The animal evidently fled to another room, whining noises can be heard in the background.
According to CNN, after a few minutes, officials said they had settled the matter.
They are also said to have had a yellow plastic bag in their hands.
Storm of indignation
The recordings caused a storm of indignation.
In this context, some users even questioned the government's extremely rigorous corona policy, which rarely occurs in public.
The owner of the dog was deeply disturbed: "If you think that my little darling has the virus, then you should at least have done a test," she told a television station.
The video also caused outrage on the Internet: "How can you still trust a state that says that it serves the people but exercises such brutal rights," wrote a user on the Weibo short message service.
The city administration admitted that the dog had been killed and in the meantime apologized to the owner - but only for the fact that there had been "no adequate communication" in advance.
The employees involved were initially suspended from duty.
As early as September, three cats that tested positive for the corona virus were also said to have been killed, as reported by CNN.
The owner was in quarantine in the hospital at the time.
kha / AFP