From the Dark Web to Public Daylight: Cat Torture in China Worsens

On December 10, 2024, Prof. Ugo Teixeira Werneck Vianna and Dr. Nicole dos Anjos de Souza published a detailed, three-part study titled “Why China has become the hub of the international zoosadism," exploring the cat torture rings that exploded in May 2023 with the posting of harrowing videos. 

The study was disseminated by the Feline Guardians (felineguardians.org), an international network of activists working to end cat torture in China by advocating for the government to enact animal protection laws, which currently do not exist. Working with local Chinese citizens, Feline Guardians (FG) tracks developments in China’s carefully controlled media and has documented how animal abuse has extended beyond cats to involve other species. This abuse has moved from the underground, online realm to acts of torture in public places in broad daylight throughout China.

Here is the chilling sequence of events, which has grown bolder, more frequent, and more disturbing:

• Jan. 29—Nanshan District. A pet dog that escaped from a kennel and was injured on the highway was captured, killed and eaten by people working for the highway company Guangshen-Zhujiang Expressway. The hapless pet was brought to the company’s cafeteria, where he was butchered. The company provided false information before admitting the truth on February 1.

• Feb. 17—Location unknown. FG posted a video of two young Chinese women abusing a cat. They are not part of the cat torture ring mafia but supposedly “normal” people who believe that such devious behavior will result in approval and garner likes.

• Feb. 21—Qianpu Village, Siming District, Xiamen. Someone used a high-powered crossbow to kill stray cats. The angle of the weapon’s arrow, exceeding 60 degrees, was capable of fatal damage within five meters, thus posing a threat to public safety.

• Feb. 24—Anhui Province, Tongling Vocational and Technical College. A cat was tortured and beheaded, and its body placed in the hole of a student desk inside a classroom. The school’s ridiculous statements--“Nothing man-made was found” and “No human involvement was found”—failed to address the gravity of the matter and avoided an investigation to find the culprit.

• March 3—Quzhou, Zhejiang, Xin’an Street. A man abused and stomped on a cat, later christened Xiaobai, to kill it on a public street. With children present, he verbally threatened passersby who tried stop him. He was later sent to a hospital for mental illness; however, a Chinese post on FG would later show that the killer had lucidly premediated the murder by using agricultural gloves to protect himself from the cat’s scratching and biting, as well as cat food to lure the victim. The post warned that the torturer challenged “the public’s moral boundaries with obvious provocation… If today he can abuse and kill cats, will he dare to harm people tomorrow?”

• March 6—Huli district, Xiamen, in front of Shanyantang Pharmacy. A man tortured and skinned a cat alive on the street, causing panic among local residents.

• March 9—Foshan, Guangdong. Activists stopped a cat meat truck containing 900 cats stolen from their owners. Instead of providing shelter or reuniting the cats with their families, the Foshan Sanshui Agricultural Bureau buried the cats alive by using a bulldozer to dig a deep pit, throwing the caged cats inside, and burying them!

• March 18—Sichuan, Ziyang, Zizhong No. 1 High School. A teacher used a net to trap a friendly, pregnant cat that visited students in class, then brutally kicked her belly and head to murder her in front of students. He even chided those who tried to stop him, “You’re all just too sentimental!” Ironically, the murder happened the day after the school’s “Respect for life” event. Students wanted to give her a proper burial, but could not find her bloody corpse. School officials pressured them to keep silent and forced students to delete posts.

• April 5—Zhejiang, The Natural History Museum. A teenage boy gave a presentation to young children called “The harm caused by stray cats is generally reflected in three main aspects.” Without any scientific evidence to back up his claims, he further vilified the species already targeted by violence all over the country.

In China, the diffusion of thousands of cat torture videos over the course of two years has eroded people’s natural abhorrence to violence and even encourages others to emulate the abuse. Torturers no longer feel the need to hide; on the contrary, they turn the murders into a public spectacle and train the next generation to perpetuate this violent persecution. 

In the study “Why China has become the hub of the international zoosadism," the authors write “There is also evidence of contact between members of the torture mafia and groups banned in China, including radicalized separatists” and recognize “there are aggressive, coordinated and deliberate attacks of defamation against China, its semiotics, current and historical leaders and the Chinese Communist Party, aiming not only to insult, but to destabilize and delegitimize.” 

However, the main culprit is the Chinese government itself, which (1) refuses to enact animal protection laws that would punish torturers and (2) is not only complicit but actively institutionalizes cat persecution, as demonstrated by the Foshan Sanshui Agricultural Bureau authorities burying cats alive and the Natural History Museum providing a noxious teen with a platform and an impressionable audience to brainwash, perpetuating the older generation’s dissociation with animals since “pet-keeping was banned in China until 1992 (Headey et al., 2007).”[1]

Some try to downplay the gravity of the situation by claiming that cat torture videos only reflect a few “bad apples” in a country with over a billion people, but it that were the case, why doesn't India produce such despicable content? What jumps out is the fact that India passed the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in 1960 and the Wildlife (Protection) Act in 1972, as well as protecting animals with sections of the Indian Penal Code. The existence of these laws illustrates Mahatma Gandhi’s famous words: "the greatness of a nation can be judged by how it treats its animals."

What does this say about China? 

One must wonder what kind of society currently exists and what kind it will become, especially when the statistics speak for themselves: children who witness animal cruelty are 3-8 times more likely to abuse animals, 46% of those arrested for animal cruelty had also been arrested for domestic abuse, 50% of sexual offenders and over 25% of child predators had a past of harming animals as children, 21% of serial killers have a history of animal cruelty.[2] 

Does China want to incubate dangerous, abusive members of society? Concerned citizens are already calling upon institutions to take action, while authorities try to suppress news and criticism.

Moreover, FG’s post on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2025, stated, “many of its members [of cat torture rings] have openly expressed their hatred towards women. According to statements by some abusers, when rejected by women who like cats, they fantasize about inflicting emotional pain on those who rejected them through acts of animal abuse. Others directly associate cats with women, and express their desire to inflict the same kind of torture and harm they inflict on these animals. It has also been seen how abusers try to extort women on the Internet, demanding intimate photos in exchange for ‘not to continue torturing’ a cat, sending them photos and videos of abuse to pressure and manipulate their victim.” Cat torture is only the means to the end of hurting women, which is another reason why it must be stopped.

Last but not least, China’s millennia of history is now being overshadowed by its reputation as the world’s producer of animal torture videos. Is this grotesque recognition the legacy that the Chinese want to pass down to their children? Do they not see a problem with young people watching violent content that they may then emulate? 

Chinese authorities must realize that their own cultural attitudes and lack of laws allow animal torture to spread, and they must act quickly to rectify the worsening situation. 

As the world waits for China to act, we can all spread awareness about the cat torture rings in order to demand an end to the abuse. Follow groups such as the Feline Guardians to take action by reporting abusers, signing petitions, sending emails, requesting media coverage, participating in X storms and protests, and contacting local representatives.