Firm puts live cat, dogs in lucky draw machine

Pets were later removed from the lucky draw machine after criticism from the netizens.

A Chinese company put cats and dogs in a machine offering lucky draws to customers at a downtown shopping mall, facing severe criticism from the Chinese netizens.

The animals were squeezed into small boxes where they could barely lie down and sleep.

The Chinese daily Global Times reported that the firm was offering winners a pet by playing games on the machine and earning points.

The first prize was a cat or a dog, the second prize was a chinchilla and the third prize was a fish and the fourth was a plant.

But the machines were removed when the videos went viral on social media and netizens criticised the company for abusing animals.

The company apologised and suspended the project. But it claimed that the project was for charity purpose to find adoption for stray pets.

The company confirmed that no pet died in the machine and the cats and dogs looked listless due to inefficient ventilation system in the machine. However, the pets were provided with water and food and boxes were cleaned on a regular basis.