China pet owners mask their dogs after suspected poisoning of 40 dogs

BEIJING - Over 40 pet dogs have died of suspected poisoning recently in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, according to a statement by the Guangdong Pet Industry Association.

The association said in the statement released on Nov 16 that it had received multiple reports of suspected poisoning cases involving pet dogs.

The reports came from several districts in Guangzhou, with the Baiyun, Haizhu and Panyu districts seeing a higher number of cases.

The association has activated an emergency response and launched an investigation into the cases. The preliminary investigation shows that the poisoning incidents mainly occurred around Nov 8, the statement said.

It also established a special task force which is actively cooperating with the police investigation to resolve the cases.

The pet association urged the public to report clues related to the incidents to the public security authorities or the association.

The spate of dog deaths have led owners in Guangdong to put masks on their pets.

Many of the owners shared tips to adapt masks for their dogs on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, with some commenting that they took these protective measures after reading about the poisoning cases. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK