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Bunny-crushing video raises online outcry over animal rights
Source: Xinhua |
December 7, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A netizen posted his chat messages online to disclose the commercial operation behind the notorious bunny-crushing video clips which appeared on the Internet last month.
The netizen, nicknamed Kongquemingwang, said he was an activist in animal protection and had been in chat groups with fetishists for two years before getting this information.
"The girls involved in the video were college students, hairdressers and even sex workers," he said, as quoted by the Beijing News.
They could earn 300 to 400 yuan with each video clip. The video clips were then sold through overseas websites.
In some countries where animal protection laws are strict, video clips featuring mammals being abused were deleted, but those about fish, shrimp and insects were accessible online, he said.
The bunny-crushing video clips, released on November 14, show three young women with short skirts and high heels abusing the rabbits, and laughing and talking as the rabbits die. In another video clip, a woman dubbed the "rabbit-abusing girl" places a piece of glass on top of a rabbit and sits on it until the small rabbit dies.
Loss of morality
The video clips have since sparked an outcry for legislation against animal abuse.
Chang Jiwen, a scholar with the Institute of Law under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who was among those responsible for drafting the China Animal Protection Law, China's first legislation on animal welfare, said that behind the cruel act was a loss of morality in society. "Human beings are animals as well," the law expert told Xinhua. "In a way, how we treat animals reflects our attitude towards mankind, as well."
The proposal of the China Animal Protection Law was released on September 18, 2009 and put online for public submission.
Chen Hongguo, a law professor with the Northwest University of Politics and Law, said there were voices opposed to the law. "Some people believe that, nowadays, even the rights of human beings could hardly be guaranteed sometimes, let alone animals," he said.
Without the law, Chen suggested the current laws, like the Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security and the Criminal Law, be used to punish the actresses and producers of the video.
The video clips stirred up an online storm as soon as they were put online. Millions of Chinese poured vitriol to condemn the women in the video.
Disgusting women
"This is disgusting. I am outraged! These people are sick. I don't understand the fetish. I am sick to my stomach. And [they are] smiling while doing it!" said a web-user named Upset.
"If anyone knows those people or knows anyone who can bring them to justice, stop them as soon as possible," said a web-user on the popular portal NetEase.
They launched "Human Flesh Search", a research movement using Internet media to identify the "rabbit-abusing girl." Results of the flesh-search showed several names, but none of them have been verified.
Animal rights advocates asked the websites to remove the rabbit-crushing video "on the grounds of morality."
"Allowing people to post videos showing images of animal cruelty provides these individuals with a platform for their cruelty," said David Neale, animal welfare director with the Hong Kong-based Animal Asia Foundation, in his letters to the two websites where the video was first seen on the Internet.
Neale added such videos may encourage people "to carry out more acts of animal abuse and post them online, and encourage disrespect for the lives of animals within society in general."
The video clips were uploaded by a netizen named Liusuifeng on November 21.
A woman using the alias Huang Xiaoxiao posted a letter of apology on the Internet and confessed she was paid to produce the so-called crush videos.
According to her confession, she started by crushing fruit but gradually changed to animals. The producer told her the video would only be exported overseas, but he threatened to put it online if she quit, Huang was quoted as saying in the West China Metropolis Daily.
Huang said she had called police for assistance. However, the apology was rejected by netizens, who believed the letter was a trick played by the producers to divert public attention. In 2006, a video showing a woman from northeast China crushing a cat with high-heels triggered a similar online controversy.
The netizen, nicknamed Kongquemingwang, said he was an activist in animal protection and had been in chat groups with fetishists for two years before getting this information.
"The girls involved in the video were college students, hairdressers and even sex workers," he said, as quoted by the Beijing News.
They could earn 300 to 400 yuan with each video clip. The video clips were then sold through overseas websites.
In some countries where animal protection laws are strict, video clips featuring mammals being abused were deleted, but those about fish, shrimp and insects were accessible online, he said.
The bunny-crushing video clips, released on November 14, show three young women with short skirts and high heels abusing the rabbits, and laughing and talking as the rabbits die. In another video clip, a woman dubbed the "rabbit-abusing girl" places a piece of glass on top of a rabbit and sits on it until the small rabbit dies.
Loss of morality
The video clips have since sparked an outcry for legislation against animal abuse.
Chang Jiwen, a scholar with the Institute of Law under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who was among those responsible for drafting the China Animal Protection Law, China's first legislation on animal welfare, said that behind the cruel act was a loss of morality in society. "Human beings are animals as well," the law expert told Xinhua. "In a way, how we treat animals reflects our attitude towards mankind, as well."
The proposal of the China Animal Protection Law was released on September 18, 2009 and put online for public submission.
Chen Hongguo, a law professor with the Northwest University of Politics and Law, said there were voices opposed to the law. "Some people believe that, nowadays, even the rights of human beings could hardly be guaranteed sometimes, let alone animals," he said.
Without the law, Chen suggested the current laws, like the Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security and the Criminal Law, be used to punish the actresses and producers of the video.
The video clips stirred up an online storm as soon as they were put online. Millions of Chinese poured vitriol to condemn the women in the video.
Disgusting women
"This is disgusting. I am outraged! These people are sick. I don't understand the fetish. I am sick to my stomach. And [they are] smiling while doing it!" said a web-user named Upset.
"If anyone knows those people or knows anyone who can bring them to justice, stop them as soon as possible," said a web-user on the popular portal NetEase.
They launched "Human Flesh Search", a research movement using Internet media to identify the "rabbit-abusing girl." Results of the flesh-search showed several names, but none of them have been verified.
Animal rights advocates asked the websites to remove the rabbit-crushing video "on the grounds of morality."
"Allowing people to post videos showing images of animal cruelty provides these individuals with a platform for their cruelty," said David Neale, animal welfare director with the Hong Kong-based Animal Asia Foundation, in his letters to the two websites where the video was first seen on the Internet.
Neale added such videos may encourage people "to carry out more acts of animal abuse and post them online, and encourage disrespect for the lives of animals within society in general."
The video clips were uploaded by a netizen named Liusuifeng on November 21.
A woman using the alias Huang Xiaoxiao posted a letter of apology on the Internet and confessed she was paid to produce the so-called crush videos.
According to her confession, she started by crushing fruit but gradually changed to animals. The producer told her the video would only be exported overseas, but he threatened to put it online if she quit, Huang was quoted as saying in the West China Metropolis Daily.
Huang said she had called police for assistance. However, the apology was rejected by netizens, who believed the letter was a trick played by the producers to divert public attention. In 2006, a video showing a woman from northeast China crushing a cat with high-heels triggered a similar online controversy.
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