The killing, which was unequivocally condemned by outraged Chinese Internet users, was filmed amid a huge lockdown in the country’s financial center following a wave of Omicron cases in late March. The dog owners, who had to be quarantined, said they let their pet go out on the streets, believing it would be more likely to survive there than inside their home without anyone feeding it. “We hoped to let him out so he could be like a stray dog. “We did not want him to starve to death,” one of the dog owners wrote in a group chat, which was filmed and later shared online. “As long as he could live, it would be okay. “We never expected to be beaten to death.” In a statement released by state-run China News Weekly on Thursday, members of a local neighborhood committee said they had killed the corgis because they “feared they might be infected”. However, officials acknowledged that the incident was “negligent”. Shanghai, China’s most populous city, recently entered a severe two-phase lockdown after thousands of residents tested positive for COVID-19. The city now has 20,398 confirmed asymptomatic and 824 symptomatic cases on Thursday. The recent massacre was not the first time Chinese healthcare workers have been caught on camera hitting pets to death after their owners tested positive for COVID-19. In November 2021, two health care workers from Shangrao City in Jiangxi Province were filmed beating a corgi to death after its owner was reportedly quarantined at a nearby hotel. Last month, a woman from Huizhou City in Guangdong Province was reportedly devastated after watching CCTV footage of Chinese health workers beating her 3-year-old dog while in quarantine. Do you like this content? Read more from NextShark! The story goes on Elderly Asian Airbnb owner slaps after telling team to leave for Chicago Topps infuriate with sticker showing BTS defeated amid anti-Asian attacks An elderly Asian woman named Racial Slurs needs 5-10 stitches after attacking Queens bakery California lawmaker approves $ 1.4 million bill to monitor anti-Asian attacks