An animal welfare charity has apologised after facing a backlash for asking Hong Kong police to help remove videos of a dog and its pups being killed in mainland China, with the group accused of undermining efforts to raise public awareness of the case.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) issued the apology on Wednesday night after social media users argued that taking down the videos would suppress evidence.
The footage circulating online 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 initial social media post hours before the apology, 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.
“We welcome any action that helps prevent the further spread of violent and harmful content, and we expect all relevant platforms to act swiftly and responsibly,” the SPCA said at the time.
