Graphic: 5,000 small animals found dead in shipping boxes in China

Sister Hua who is the founder of animal rescue group Utopia, described the scene as a ‘living hell’. The animals who were likely purchased online, were put into crammed metal or plastic cages that were packed into express boxes and transported like they were a box of clothes. According to PETA, a witness reported that the neglect and slow painful death of these animals may have been due to a miscommunication with the logistics company and their refusal to sign off on the shipment.

Chinese law bans the shipping of live animals in normal packaging and Hua believes the animals could have been abandoned at the depot for days after the shipment was not signed off because it violated the law.

Around 200 rabbits and 50 dogs survived the horrific ordeal, despite going for around a week without food and water and cramped in tiny boxes.

The animals allegedly came from a breeding farm in East China’s Anhui Province, the state-run Global Times newspaper reported, and would have been en-route to buyers across the country.

How do we prevent this from happening? Don’t buy pets online to prevent this sort of cruelty and instead bring a rescue animal into your home.