DONGTAI, CHINA — Chinese officials in Dongtai mercilessly killed two adopted strays, right in front of their horrified owner. <br /> <br />China News reports that on July 11, uniformed men reportedly stormed the home of a 70-year-old man surnamed Chen and dragged his two pet dogs out. The men were armed with wooden clubs and viciously beat both dogs to death. <br /> <br />Chen was then instructed to carry his dead pets to a nearby post, so the men could snap a photo showing they were strays. <br /> <br />Photos and videos of the gruesome scene went viral on Chinese social media, but have since been taken down. <br /> <br />Local police later released a statement saying residents had complained about the vicious dogs, and that Chen voluntarily chose to have them killed after officials explained the situation to him. <br /> <br />What’s more likely is that the men were part of a dedicated dog-catching team for Dongtai, and reportedly got 100 yuan for every dog killed. The culling mission was carried out in an effort for the municipality to be named a clean and civilized city. <br /> <br />Pretty sure beating an animal to death isn’t a civilized thing to do in most parts of the world, but maybe they’ve got different standards in Dongtai.
