Society

'Dog-a-day' killer hounded by netizens

By Qiu Quanlin (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-13 08:15

GUANGZHOU - A man, who claimed he would kill a dog a day in protest at the activists who had stopped a truck en route to a slaughterhouse a month ago, has quit his job amid overwhelming criticism from netizens.

Zhu Guangbing, a former human resources manager in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, threatened he would kill a dog every day from June 1 if animal activists did not give the money they used for rescuing dogs to starving students in underdeveloped areas. Provided to China Daily

Zhu Guangbing, who up until recently worked as a human resources manager with a jewelry company in Huadu district of Guangzhou, capital city of South China's Guangdong province, threatened he would kill a dog every day if dog rescuers did not give the money they used for rescuing dogs to starving students in underdeveloped areas.

He wrote on his micro blog on May 4 that he would start his killing spree on June 1.

However, netizens initiated a cyber-hunt and his personal information was exposed online.

Zhu was eventually forced to quit his job after netziens started calling him at work.

"I quit the job to prevent people from disturbing the company's business," Zhu said.

"I don't think what he said is wrong. But we agreed with his decision to quit the job due to repeated calls from protesters to the company," an unnamed manager told Guangzhou Daily.

"I am looking for a new job, but I will continue to express my thoughts on the Internet," Zhu said.

It was not the first time that Zhu has received online criticism for his bold opinions.

Zhu's pre-registration of the domain name "512" after a devastating earthquake hit Sichuan province on May 12, 2008 also drew furious online criticism.

Zhu's latest run-in with netizens came after a truck carrying some 500 dogs to Northeast China was stopped by more than 200 animal rights activists on a Beijing expressway, leading to a traffic standoff for 14 hours.

The rescuers paid 115,000 yuan ($11,716) to buy all the dogs from the driver and dog vendors. The dogs were later transferred to the China Small Animal Protection Association's Bei'anhe base in Beijing.

The incident has sparked a nationwide debate over the consumption of dog meat.

Zhu said the dogs all come from farms that already supply popular hotpot restaurants with dog meat.

"I have to admit my proposed action was kind of extreme," he said. "But their behavior, stopping trucks on the highway, was even more extreme."

As the online criticism continued to mount, Zhu backtracked a little and promised to give up his dog-killing plan if those who blocked the highway to rescue the dogs apologized for their improper behavior and published online how the donated money is used.

"If they can persuade me by explaining how the money is used, I will not kill the dogs," he said.