The incident in which "Chutou," a popular influencer dog from Henan Province, China, with over 1 million followers on social media, was stolen by unknown men and women and subsequently killed, has stirred controversy.

According to multiple Chinese media outlets including Cover News (封面新聞), Chutou, a Border Collie, was abducted on May 11 this year by two people on an electric motorcycle from a field near his home in Ningling County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province. When owner Guo (郭) identified the man involved from security camera footage and confronted him, he explained that he had "sold it (to a dog meat buyer) as meat at 4 yuan (approximately 95 yen) per 500 grams (totaling 180 yuan, approximately 4,200 yen)." When they contacted the vendor, it was discovered that Chutou had already been killed.

Guo reported the incident to the police and collected materials regarding Chutou's "commercial value" as an influencer dog, requesting that a case be filed. In China, the abduction of animals is generally handled as "theft," but each region has a certain standard amount for filing a case, and if the value of the stolen property does not reach that standard, it will not be filed as a criminal case.

The police later notified that "Chutou's value has reached the criminal case filing standard for theft in Henan Province, so a criminal case has been officially filed, and the investigation will proceed according to normal criminal justice procedures." It seems that Guo was able to prove Chutou's proprietary value as "a famous dog with over 1 million followers," thus meeting the criminal case filing standard for theft.

Guo emphasized, "I have no intention of settling in any form in the future, and I demand strict punishment under the law for those who stole Chutou."

On June 6, the Beijing Aita Animal Protection Foundation (北京愛它動物保護公益基金会) stated on its official Weibo (微博) social media account that the background for this incident gaining social attention in China is that it "has once again highlighted problems (such as animal abuse, theft, and trade) that have existed in China for many years but are often overlooked," and asserted that "animals are not objects that can be arbitrarily possessed, resold, or disposed of."

Furthermore, it stated, "People are speaking out not to seek the resolution of individual incidents, but because they hope for the formation of a clearer social consensus. That is to have basic respect for life, to be aware of the boundaries of others' property rights, and to establish effective and clear legal restraints against acts of theft, trade, and harm."

According to reports, the custom of eating dog meat has long existed in some regions of China. About 10 years ago, Western media also reported that China was the world's largest dog meat market, and half of the approximately 30 million dogs consumed globally each year for food were consumed in China. To date, no law has been enacted in China to protect pets kept in homes. In a case of poisoning pets in Beijing in 2022, the owner's persistent demands for action finally led to the case being accepted as an administrative matter. (Translation and editing by Kitada)