Animal lovers were enraged when a video posted on Weibo showed a dog limping in a wolf enclosure in a Shandong zoo.
Netizens were quick to associate this incident with China’s infamous Yulin Dog Meat Festival, where dogs are caught and butchered for food.
Others called the zoo out for animal cruelty and argued that dogs and wolves should not be placed together.
Following public backlash, the zoo released a statement, explaining that the dog and the wolves were imported together.
They have lived in the same enclosure for more than two months and are getting along well, said the statement.
According to the zoo, the dog’s injury was not caused by wolves but by a scratch from an exposed metal bar in the enclosure.
Zoo officials also revealed that the dog is a husky-wolf hybrid. The dog is currently receiving medical attention and has been removed from the wolf enclosure.
See the zoo’s full statement below:
debwong@sph.com.sg
