Thousands of abandoned pets ‘at risk of starving to death’ in coronavirus-hit areas in China
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Thousands of pets trapped in the epicentre of China’s deadly coronavirus outbreak are at risk of starving to death, according to animal rescuers and activists.
The warning comes as campaigners claim local governments have called for pet dogs and cats to be culled, due to discredited concerns they can be infected with the illness that began in the Hubei p Wuhan’s mayor, Zhou Xianwang, recently told a news conference five million people had left his city ahead of the Chinese New Year.
Based on this figure, one man on the frontline of the rescue effort to save abandoned animals has estimated up to 50,000 pets have been left in Wuhan homes.
Animals in some parts of China were also caught up in spurious rumours that pets were exacerbating the virus’s spread.
The number of abandoned pets rose in the past week, according to several animal rights groups, while isolated reports of pets being killed circulated on the internet.
Suichang, a small county in Zhejiang, the province second to Hubei with the most infections, on Friday ordered residents to keep their dogs at home. Dogs caught in public will be exterminated, county authorities said.
Many in Beijing and Shanghai also rushed to buy face masks for their dogs in their mistaken belief that pets could catch the virus.
