Ohio: Police say Miami University student Hancheng "Tony" Dai tortured and burned his roommate's cat

OXFORD, OHIO -- He was supposed to be caring for his roommate's cat, but when the roommate came home, he found his pet badly burned.

20-year-old Hancheng "Tony" Dai is charged with abusing his roommate's cat. The cat, named clover, has severe burns and a broken leg.

Based on his Facebook page, I believe he may be a Chinese national here on a student visa. China does not have any animal cruelty laws. You're allowed to do whatever you want to animals without repercussion. Not only is that an abhorrent thought, but it also causes problems when they come to America and bring this mindset with them; that they can do whatever they want to poor animals without impunity. 

Consider this: Among the top 10 most industrialized nations, China is the only one that does not have a law against animal cruelty. England brought in the first modern anti-cruelty legislation in 1822. China is nearly 200 years behind the British in their thinking regarding animal welfare.

Lt. Lara Fening with Oxford Police Department said, “There was a lot of damage to that cat. Although, they say it's in much better spirits than when it came into the vet when it seemed very sick, but it seemed in really good spirits today although it looked horrible."

The owner left their home in Oxford for six weeks and asked Dai to take care of Clover for him.

Investigators say when the Miami University student got back to his apartment, he found his cat, Clover, with multiple injuries – the back, sides and top of the cat’s head were severely burned, leaving raw, bloody skin and loose patches of hair. Clover also had a broken leg.

Dai claimed he washed Clover in hot water and used a hair dryer on the cat, but claimed he did not think the heat or water were enough to have caused the injuries.

Police say the veterinarian believes the cat’s burns are thermal or chemical.

A thermal burn is a type of burn resulting from making contact with heated objects, such as boiling water, steam, hot cooking oil, fire, and hot objects. Scalds are the most common type of thermal burn.

Chemical burns come from someone pouring a caustic substance onto the animal such as bleach, drain cleaner.

Dai claimed to an investigating officer that Clover "jumped off the refrigerator and that's how she broke her leg".

Although the cat is in good spirits, police say it was hard to see. Lt. Fening saw the cat Tuesday afternoon.

“It was wanting me to pet it, rubbing its face against my fingers, but I was afraid to pet it because there were not many places I could pet it,” Fening said.

Clover is at the Oxford Veterinary Hospital and police tell us the cat will have surgery for its injuries tomorrow.

Police charged Dai with "injuring animals". That's a misdemeanor. The prosecutor could charge him with a crime that carries a stiffer penalty.

They better upgrade it to a felony. Misdemeanor animal cruelty is more for neglect (hoarding, untreated mange). This was torture and shows intent to harm, maim and kill. 

ARREST INFORMATION:
Full Name: Hancheng Dai
Alias: Hancheng Tony Dai, Tony Dai
Arrest Age: 20
Gender: Male
Race: Asian
Birthdate: 05/19/1997
Height: 6'00"
Weight: 185 lbs
Hair Color: BLACK
Eye Color: BROWN
Date:01/27/2018
Time: 12:29 PM
Arrest Location:11 S. POPLER ST OXFORD, O, Butler, OH
County: Butler County, Ohio
Charges
#1 INJURING ANIMALS
BOND: $1150

 

(Fox45Now - January 31, 2018)

China: Police officer creates a home for retired K9 dogs to spend their final years

CHINA -- Many police dogs have an uncertain future after retirement but this man in China is making sure they have a forever home.

Bai Yan, a police dog handler from Hangzhou, China's Zhejiang province has created a home for retired dogs to spend their final years.

He says he wants to say thank you to his 'commrades' and give them dignity in their final years.

The man rented a strip of land from a friend and turned it into a centre for the animals.

Bai says he wants to say thank you to the animals for serving the public.

He opened the facility in 2010 and has seen 20 dogs see out their final years.

Currently, the home has some 16 canines including one of whom, Bai used to work with.

Bai said: 'They are my comrades in arms and now they are getting old, I want them to be able to spend their remaining years with dignity.'

The man spends time with the dogs three times a day. He even wakes up at 4am to give them breakfast and spend time with them individually.

He takes one dog to work with him every day so that they have a varied schedule.

Bai said: 'I want to be there to make them happy in the last years of their lives. They have fought with me side by side for many years. They are just like my family, and I will take care of my family.'

He has spent around $150,000 on keeping the home open and paying for the vet's bills.

His life's aim to ensure that no dog is left neglected following a lifetime of service and Bai says that he was first inspired by seeing a dog who had been rehomed after completing his police service.

Bai said: 'I saw he was chained up and lying on the ground outside the front door next to a bowl of soured leftovers. His hair was all dirty and messy. I knew I had to act.'

(Daily Mail - August 29, 2017)

China: Man's Golden Retriever beaten, tortured and abused by China Eastern Airlines staff

CHINA -- These shocking images show the injuries sustained after a dog was allegedly manhandled by airport staff.

The Golden Retriever, who was taking a flight home with its owner, suffered serious injuries after reportedly escaping from its cage.

What did they do to his eyes???

It is believed ‘excessive force’ was used on the dog by airport staff.

The 23-year-old owner of the animal said his dog Er Mao had severe injuries to its eyes and body when he was handed to him by staff at Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, capital of Central China’s Hubei Province.

The dog had been placed inside a cage in the cargo hold of the China Eastern Airlines flight from Shanghai, although it’s said to have escaped and bolted across the tarmac.

Were they stabbing him? Tasing him? WTH?!

According to a statement by the airport, flight MU 2544 was delayed and eight staff members spent over 40 minutes chasing and restraining the runaway pet before putting it back in its cage.

After the flight landed in Wuhan, the owner said he had to wait over an hour to be given his dog, and only then was he informed that Er Mao had somehow managed to escape the cargo hold.

Photo taken before he was tortured and abused

The airport CLAIMED their staff had to react to the ’emergency situation’ in order to avoid damage and injuries to assets and passengers, apologizing to the owner for the incident that has grabbed headlines nationwide.

But the owner, who said his pet was still receiving emergency treatment at an animal hospital, is demanding a better explanation and may seek damages from the airport as well as the airlines.

Further investigation is now under way to determine who will take the blame for the dog’s escape and injuries.

Metro.co.uk has reached out to both Tianhe International Airport and China Eastern Airlines about the allegations.

Note: China does not have ANY animal cruelty laws; they can basically do whatever they want to animals without repercussion.

(Metro UK - May 30, 2017)

China: Heavily armed SWAT officers are called to a hill after family spot a 'tiger' on the loose - only to discover the animal is a STUFFED TOY

CHINA -- Heavily armed SWAT officers were called to a park in China after a family reported seeing a tiger on the loose.

Police responded to the scene in Huzhou, China's Zhejiang province on February 9 only to find that the tiger was a stuffed animal, reports the People's Daily Online.

It's unclear where the toy animal had come from but police took it back with them to the station.

Ms Jiang was with her family hiking at 9am on Thursday when the saw an animal lying on the bench of a pavilion.

Its tummy was yellow and black and she says it looks like a sleeping tiger.

Terrified that it was a tiger, the family turned around and ran down the hill and called the police.

 

Changxing County Public Security Bureau attended the scene armed with shields, a steel fork and other protective equipment.

When they arrived, they saw the tiger figure some 100 feet away.

One officer told reporters: 'At that time I thought, this powerful animal can not disturb it or else it may hurt someone.'

They observed the 'animal' for 10 minutes and noticed that its eyes looked sluggish.

They threw some stones but the tiger remained motionless. It was then that they realized it was a toy.

New mascot for police

An officer told reporters: 'This toy is too realistic and three feet long.'

To prevent anyone from getting scared by the toy, he brought the 'animal' back to the police station.

Chinese police shouldn't feel too embarrassed. This happens more often than you think!

(Daily Mail - February 10th 2017)

Related:

Police respond to report of "dead tiger" on roadway


Woman calls in police over 'crocodile' in garden - only to be told it was an inflatable toy


Stuffed, toy tiger tied to top of SUV spurs 911 call


Animal control officers called to protect neighborhood from stuffed tiger


United Kingdom: Officers rush to help dog hit by car, happy to see it was just a stuffed dog toy lying in road

Oregon: Golden Retriever puppy abandoned to die inside apartment after owner went back home to China

OREGON -- A Golden Retriever puppy was found alive after being left alone for a month in an apartment by his owner, a University of Oregon college student.

The four-month-old puppy, named Jake, weighed ten pounds, according to KVAL.

Eugene Animal Services said in a release: 'On November 30, an animal welfare officer responded to Uncommon Apartments for an abandoned animal.

'The property manager called after receiving an e-mail from an 18-year-old male tenant reporting he had returned home to China and believed his dog was dead inside the unit.'

According to Eugene Animal Services, 'the officer found an severely underweight and lethargic puppy unable to stand.

'The estimated 4-month-old golden retriever was taken to the Emergency Veterinary Hospital and spent two days receiving around the clock care.'

Eugene Animal Services said when Jake was stable, he was taken to First Avenue Shelter and put in foster care.

Jake was probably left alone for a month before he was saved, KVAL reported.

Molly Monette, who is the Eugene Police Department's Animal Welfare Supervisor, told The Register-Guard: 'There was a bag of food in the apartment that (Jake) didn't have access to.

'So we don't know if there was someone that was going to take care of him and wasn’t showing up. There was a food dish with no food and water in it.

'When we got there, there was access to nothing. So we don't know how long he was left with no food and water.'

Jake is currently six months old and 35 pounds, yet his growth was possibly stunted by that month, she told newspaper.

The Eugene Animal Services release said: 'After two months of close observation from Greenhill Humane Society’s Veterinary Team, he reached a healthy weight. The puppy was named Jake by staff and was adopted by his foster family.'

Attempts to contact Jake's owner proved unsuccessful, it said.

According to release: 'Further investigation by Animal Services and Eugene police detectives found that he left the country on October 29, and has not returned or enrolled for the new term at the university. The man remains a suspect in the case.'

  

Monette told KVAL: 'When he didn't return in time for classes to start, his visa was suspended. So he has not returned and we have not had contact with him.'

He'll just wait until the statute of limitations has run out then he'll come back.

She was Jake's foster parent and adopted Jake, explaining to the TV station: 'He has become the therapy dog for the department. So he is the newest addition to the Eugene Police Department.'

(Daily Mail - Feb 11, 2017)

Hong Kong: Police officers care for cat at local jail after owner arrested

HONG KONG -- You've got to be kitten us right meow. A cat has apparently been "jailed" at a Hong Kong police station for a week after its owner was arrested, leaving it bereft and without a carer. Fur real.

Oriental Daily reports that Western District police officers arrested a woman for an unspecified crime last week. When it turned out that no one could look after it for her, the cat was whiskered away into police custody.

The court reportedly refused to arrange shelter for the cat, as it has no relevance to its owner's criminal case, while the SPCA and AFCD also refused to take it in as the cat still has an owner.

According to the Pounds Ordinance, any animal found "at large" which appears to be lost, doing damage, or without a carer may be seized by and impounded "in any convenient place" by police until its owner has paid the relevant expenses.

As a result, the feline felon has been detained in a cell at Aberdeen police station for the past week, where officers are looking after it in 24-hour shifts.

Apparently, some officers took pity on the lonely kitty and brought it treats, toys and a scratching box. How "pawsitively" adorable.

With police seeming to take such a shine to their new companion, we were hoping the kitty would become an honorary officer – a member of the fuzz, if you will.

However, the cat is reportedly being taken in by the Society of Abandoned Animals today, after its owner signed a form consenting to its transfer.

(Coconuts Hong Kong - July 11, 2016)

China: Bear Trapped For Years In 'Torture Vest' Now Spends Her Days Swimming

CHINA -- Caesar the bear spent the first part of her life in hell.

For years, the brown bear lived at a bile farm in China. Like thousands of other bears, she was packed into a tiny cage, never seeing the sun or having room to run, while an open wound on her side drained bile from her gallbladder for use in outdated, Chinese pseudo-medicine.

But Caesar also wore a torture vest, a cruel metal cylinder that was belted around her abdomen. The contraption kept in place the "crude" latex catheter that siphoned out the bile, as well as a metal box to collect it in.
"[It's] the worst imaginable bile farm torture," Animals Asia, which eventually rescued Caesar, said of the vest.

And the device was as uncomfortable as it looked. "I remember only too well her rescue some four years ago when she bounced violently in her rusting cage on the bear farm in Tianjin and I thought she would crash through," Jill Robinson, founder of Animals Asia, wrote. "Caesar was understandably a very unhappy bear."

 

 

Fortunately, Caesar was one of the lucky ones to escape the bile industry. When Animals Asia rescued her in 2004, she was frustrated and miserable, her abdomen wet and hairless from the painful vest. She had never lived a natural life.

But now, after years of recovery at Animal Asia's Chengdu sanctuary, Caesar looks like a different bear. Happy and healed, she's turned into a strong, muscular bear with a "majestic" coat, Animals Asia said.

"Caesar's scars have all but disappeared and today she is an astonishingly beautiful (and formidable) bear," Robinson said, noting that she's "in robustly good health" despite her years in the bile cages. "Weighing in at a humongous 271 kgs [598 lbs], Caesar is all muscle and all woman!"

And her favorite activities couldn't be further from the dark, tiny environment where she spent the first part of her life.

"She has now spent a dozen happy years with Animals Asia in Chengdu, enjoying swims in the sunshine as well as indulging her natural digging instincts — particularly when the weather cools in the autumn," Animals Asia said.

Photos shared by the group show Caesar lounging happily in her sunny pool, splashing about and stopping only to shake the water off her thick fur.

"Seeing a bear shake themselves like this is always a moment full of awe — they're such incredibly beautiful, powerful animals and none more so than Caesar," Nic Field, director of the group's China bear and vet team, said in a statement. "To see her out in the sunshine — a dozen years on from her rescue — it's hard to imagine her existence back then."

While Caesar's transformation is incredible, it's also a reminder of just how much life is still cooped up in Asia's bile farms. There are an estimated 10,000 bears locked up in China alone, according to Animals Asia. Most are moon bears (aka sun bears), but some are brown bears like Caesar.

And while the cruel metal vest she wore has since been outlawed, that doesn't mean there aren't bears like her still trapped in the medieval-looking devices.

"These metal jackets are now illegal so less common, but it's likely that there are still some out there," Steve Jackson, head of communications for Animals Asia, told The Dodo.

But while Caesar's rescue might be one small dent in the bile industry, it made a world of difference in the life of one happy brown bear. Even after all these years, she's still making up for the time she spent tucked away in darkness — which means lots of swimming, climbing and running through the grass.

"[She was a] huge presence trapped in such a tiny, confining space," Field said of Caesar's life before her rescue. "We're honored to be able to provide her a better life, and watching her enjoy her surroundings every day is an absolute pleasure."

There are still over 10,000 bears trapped in tiny cages on bile farms in China. 

To help Caesar stay happy, and make sure bears still trapped on the bile farms have the same chance at freedom, you can make a donation to Animals Asia here.

(The Dodo - June 2, 2016)

Rows of pet dogs hanging on hooks and cats skinned ready for the dinner table: Inside China's gruesome annual 'meat festival' that was supposed to have been banned

CHINA -- Thousands of stolen pets are being slaughtered for a Chinese 'dog meat festival' which local authorities said was shut down last year, MailOnline has learned.

The local government in Yulin, central China, said they banned the decades-old local tradition after two million furious campaigners in China called for an end to the bloody practice.

But an undercover investigation has found as many as 10,000 helpless animals - many of them still wearing collars having been stolen away from loving homes - are being brought to the city ahead of the festival on June 22.

 

 

 

Many animals die from shock, starvation and dehydration on the journey. The traumatised ones who do survive are beaten to death or their throats slit in street markets and illegal slaughterhouses, animal rights campaigners told MailOnline.

Humane Society International (HSI) launched an investigation after it suspected thousands of cats and dogs are still being inhumanely killed there in their thousands.

Despite assurances the festival had been banned, HSI's Peter Li discovered hundreds of newly- slaughtered dogs impaled on spikes and cats crammed so tightly into tiny wire cages 'they could not breathe'.

Some could barely stand in their squalid pens because they suffered broken bones and severe wounds from the horrendous journey.

He found that local slaughterhouse workers were instructed to only kill animals under the cover of darkness and restaurants were told to remove the words 'dog meat' from their menus in an attempt to cover up the festival's existence.

'Mass dog slaughter is still going on at Yulin despite the local authorities trying to give the impression that's it's ended' Mr Li told MailOnline.

'The Yulin government has declared the "festival" will not happen, but this is mere semantics and thousands of dogs will still die for their meat whether it's called a festival or not.'

He was alarmed at the dangerously unhygienic conditions in which the animals were being killed and described the smell at a slaughterhouse just outside Dongkou - where the 'end of slaughter process' takes place - as 'offensive'.

'The place was full of blood, internal organs of the dogs and cats, blow torched carcasses, and freshly slaughtered dogs hanging on hooks' Mr Li added.

'We saw two wire cages filled with cats waiting to be slaughtered the next day. They were suffering from long journeys, food deprivation, mental trauma, and illnesses. Some of them wore collars.'

It is legal to eat dogs in China and the country has no law protecting the welfare of pets but its Ministry of Agriculture has strict rules which require cats and dogs to have 'health certificates' before they are transported.

The mass-transport of animals over long distances increases the risk of rabies and threatens the health and safety of the people who eat them.

Guangxi province historically has the highest number of rabies death in China and Yulin - based in its south-west - recorded 338 deaths from rabies between 2002 and 2006 alone, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Mr Li was so overcome with sadness at the sight of the suffering animals in potentially-disease-ridden slaughterhouses that he rescued two dogs and two cats from the painful deaths that awaited them.

'It was heart breaking when I approached their filthy enclosure, they came up to me hopefully and one frantically followed my fingers with his nose,' he said.

'Like so many of the others, he [the dog] had probably been someone's household pet who was stolen away from his family for this meat trade.  Another small dog who was always close by this first dog was so quiet as if he was broken spirited, knowing what fate could befall him... Their faces were just so unforgettable.'

'Their eyes.... I knew I couldn't help all these poor animals, but I had to try to change the life of these two fellows.'

'I just told the slaughterhouse worker that I wanted to take these two dogs out of this place of misery, and he accepted... If I'd asked for them all I would have come away empty handed.'

Posing as a local merchant, investigator Mr Li was about to walk away with the rescued dogs when he noticed an emaciated cat clinging on to the side of its enclosure.

He added: 'She was in such a poor state. Filthy with wild, wide eyes... Her eyes were heart-wrenching, she was clearly terrified. And the pink collar still around her neck was proof that she used to have a loving home.

'She must have been utterly bewildered. She too had a companion who shadowed her, sticking close to each other for protection I guess.

'They're coming with me too,' he told the slaughterhouse worker, trying not to reveal his emotions in case he discovered why Li was really there.

The 'Yulin Four' are now recovering from their horrendous injuries and mental trauma at a shelter in China, but thousands of others will soon be cut up while still alive - and their meat sold at the markets in Yulin.

China's dog meat trade is neither limited to the summer solstice nor the Yulin markets, with as many as 20 million dogs being killed for consumption in the country every year.

But the Chinese public - particularly younger generations - has turned against the trade and many protests have been held in recent weeks which forced some slaughterhouses to close down their operations.

Peter added that Yulin's authorities are 'very nervous' and have issued warnings to meat sellers to be ready for the protesters from all over the world to descend on the city as the festival's date approaches.

But he claims the dog meat trade is on the decline and at this time of year - when the trade is at its busiest - he only saw two open stores in the infamous Dongkou Market, where seven stores were open last year.

He worryingly predicts many more stores may open nearer the summer solstice, as meat sellers and butchers descend on the city to make money.

Chinese legends say eating dog meat dispels evil ghosts and disease and can even boost men's sexual performance, according to the South China Morning Post.

The tradition is not unique to Yulin. Other cities in the Zhejiang, Guangxi, and Guangdong provinces - the booming industrial town of Dongguan among them - are also known to be avid consumers of dog meat.

MailOnline has contacted Yulin's local government for comment but they have yet to reply.
Readers can sign Humane Society International's petition calling on Chinese officials to end the Yulin dog festival HERE

(Daily Mail - June 1, 2015)