Yahoo – AFP,
February 3, 2020
 |
A man carries his dog in a shopping bag at a pet fair in Shanghai. China is home
to a growing population of pet owners, with pet-related spending in China reaching
nearly $24 billion in 2018 (AFP Photo/JOHANNES EISELE) |
Beijing
(AFP) - China's unprecedented quarantining of virus-hit Wuhan has separated
millions from their families -- and many from their pets, prompting worried
owners and kind strangers to take to social media to ensure left-behind animals
are looked after.
The virus
that has killed more than 360 in China emerged during the Lunar New Year when
hundreds of millions were travelling across the country, and the subsequent
lockdown on Wuhan and central Hubei province has left many stranded.
The hashtag
"save the pets left behind in Wuhan" became the third-most searched
term on the Twitter-like Weibo platform Monday, receiving millions of views
from those unable to return to the city, where the virus is believed to have
originated, and others willing to help.
"Please
help me feed my cat", one user posted on January 30.
On Monday,
he used the hashtag to post the happy news he had found a "young man"
who had agreed to go and feed his cat Maomao.
"In
the video chat, after the man opened the door Maomao meowed so miserably, no
one has been home for more than a dozen days..." he said.
More than
2,000 people also joined a group created by the Wuhan Small Animal Protection
Association on Chinese chat app QQ to look for "kind-hearted people"
willing to feed pets left behind in Wuhan by owners unable to enter the city.
One member
on Monday asked if anyone would be willing to feed a pet snake. "I'm
worried to death" the user, who posted anonymously, said. "I didn't
let him hibernate this winter because he's a baby snake."
That post
had no takers as of late Monday.
"If
any cats and dogs are stranded and you can let me in, I can help you feed them
on livestream," wrote Katherine Cui in eastern Zhejiang province -- where
the city of Wenzhou was placed under a similar lockdown to Wuhan on Sunday.
"I
have many pets at home, and plenty of cat food, dog food and kitty litter, I
know too well how important fur babies are."
The drive
to save pets comes after multiple Chinese media reports said apartment
complexes had banned pets to stop the spread of the virus, as well as
unverified reports that people had thrown animals to their deaths for similar
reasons.
While the
novel coronavirus is believed to have crossed over from animals to humans at a
Wuhan market known for selling live wildlife, the World Health Organization has
said on its Weibo account there is "no evidence that dogs, cats and other
pets can catch the novel coronavirus."
China is
home to a growing population of pet owners, with pet-related spending in China
reaching 170.8 billion yuan ($23.7 billion) in 2018, according to a report by
Pet Fair Asia and pet website Goumin.com.
