In an absolutely sickening discovery, 5,000 animals have been found dead in cardboard boxes and mail packages in China.
It is believed that the animals originated from a commercial animal breeding compound in Anhui Province and that they were transported from there to a logistics station in Zhengzhou in September.
A Chinese animal rights group has said that many of the animals were being transported because they had been sold online and that either a miscommunication or misdirection led to the animals being unattended.
In China, it is illegal to send animals through the normal mail service.
The animals were said to include dogs, cats, mostly puppies and kittens, as well as rabbits and guinea pigs. Around 50 cats and dogs and 200 rabbits were able to be saved and are now being cared for by the proper authorities.
A member of the rescue team told Global Times:
"We rescued about 50 cats and dogs as well as 200 rabbits, but it was fewer than five percent of all animals there. The stinking boxes cluttered the station, and lots of animals inside had died of suffocation, starvation or thirst."
Sister Hua, a member of an animal rescue group known as 'Utopia' told CBS news:
"The station was cluttered with express boxes with thousands of animals that had already died, and the entire place reeks of rotting bodies. It was like a living hell. It was obvious they died of suffocation, dehydration and starvation."
She added:
"Miscommunication inside the shipping company and the inconsistency of the implementation of shipping regulations directly led to the tragedy. Of course, both buyers and sellers bear the responsibility, too."
The authorities are now investigating the crime and have stated how such activities are not only cruel to animals but are also a danger to public health. This is because animals contain diseases that can be transmitted to humans by transporting them inside or outside the country without proper quarantine procedures.
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