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china virus, coronavirus, wuhan, cats dogs thrown in china, india, coronavirus in uae

New Delhi - One picture showed a dog found dead after allegedly being thrown from tower blocks in China.

By IANS

Published: Mon 3 Feb 2020, 2:56 PM

Last updated: Mon 3 Feb 2020, 6:16 PM

Chilling pictures of bloodied corpses of dogs and cats lying on the roads in China have been doing rounds on the internet after panicking pet owners reportedly threw their pets out of tower blocks following a false claim that the deadly coronavirus can be passed on by animals.
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A user posted the pictures captioned, "What next?" along with the aggressive emojis coloured in red and the caption further stated - "Virus panic Coronavirus - Cats and dogs 'thrown from tower blocks' in China after fake news rumours animals are causing spread."

One picture showed a dog found dead after allegedly being thrown from tower blocks in China.

The pictures further showed poor pets lying dead on the ground with their blood staining surrounding bricks.

Q: Can pets at home spread the new #coronavirus (2019-nCoV)?
A: At present, there is no evidence that companion animals/pets such as dogs, cats can be infected with the virus.
However, it is always a good idea to wash your hands with soap and water after contact with pets pic.twitter.com/aJD53T8Fsx
- World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 27, 2020

Angry tweeple taking to Twitter commented, "This is so disgusting and horrific!!!! That would be the day I'd give my pet up or kill my pet! Now it's all a rumour? The animals are not carrying the disease! Just keep everyone in that country calm, don't kill the pets!!!!"

Posting the crying emojis, a user said: "Animal lovers must be devastated."
Talking about Chinese society, a user said, "Society, needs to change its understanding of animal welfare. Throwing a pig on a bungee rope to promote a fun park - ???? ignorance, arrogance and cruelty of the highest order. Now the selfish act of protecting oneself by this. #AnimalWelfare #AnimalCruelty."

Meanwhile, Chinese health authorities on Monday said that the death toll in the country due to the deadly novel coronavirus has increased to 361, with 17,205 infected cases.