A Border Collie with more than 1.5 million followers on social media was stolen, sold to a restaurant and then eaten, his distraught owner said.
Chinese travel blogger Guo and the eight year-old dog Chutou became internet stars after he started documenting their adventures on Douyin, the country’s version of TikTok.
Chutou disappeared on 11 May while he was being cared for by Guo’s father during one of the owner’s overseas trips, South China Morning Post reported.
Surveillance footage is said to have shown two people taking the dog away on an electric scooter from the family home, prompting the blogger to cut short his trip and return to search for his beloved pet.
Two weeks later, Guo said he tracked down a man he suspected of the theft and offered 10,000 yuan (about $1,500) to return Chutou.
But according to The Post, the blogger was told the animal had already been sold to a restaurant for 180 yuan ($27), slaughtered and eaten.
The alleged thief had claimed he mistook Chutou for a stray dog, but Guo said his pet had been wearing a collar and a GPS tracker.
Offering no apology, the man reportedly said: “The dog is dead, so stop making a fuss. I did not break the law.”
Guo, who bought Chutou in 2018 when he was a three-month-old puppy for 2000 yuan ($300), reported the case to the police and is said to be pursuing legal action.
Police in Ningling County in Henan province have opened an investigation, according to the outlet HK01.
The case has sparked widespread outrage online in China and has reignited debate over the country’s animal welfare laws.
“I cried while watching Chutou’s old videos,” one social media user wrote. “Such a bright, living soul ended so tragically. Those who stole, killed and ate him must pay.”
An estimated 10 million dogs a year are killed for China’s dog meat trade, thought to be consumed by less than 20 per cent of the population, according to Humane Society International (HSI).
A nationwide survey in 2016 suggested a majority of Chinese citizens think the dog meat trade should be completely banned, with nearly 70 per cent of those polled having never eaten it – despite efforts by traders to promote it.
But while some Chinese cities have banned the consumption of dogs and cats, the country has no comprehensive national companion-animal protection law, and pets are generally treated as property.
