Viral video of Chinese vendors peddling puppies like 'toys' enrages netizens

A tourist from Czech Republic visited China recently, and shared a video of vendors selling puppies on the streets of Lanzhou. 

The tourist said in an accompanying caption:

“When we were in the pedestrian zone in Lanzhou, we came across some vendors who appeared to be selling puppies on the street. 

“At first we couldn’t believe our own eyes, and we thought they were selling some sort of soft toys.

“But upon closer inspection, we discovered that those ‘toys’ were real puppies dressed in colourful costumes.”

Other vendors could also be spotted peddling puppies on the same street, each with a box of puppies placed in front of them, reports World of Buzz

Within each box were at least ten puppies cramped in, their hind legs wrapped wth cloth with prevent them from moving.  

The vendors were also less than gentle when they handled the puppies, and in one instance, a vendor seized a puppy by the neck to show it to a potential buyer. 

Just three days after the video was uploaded, it was shared over 59,900 times. 

Netizens and animal lovers alike were enraged by the cruel treatment of the puppies.

Said a Facebook user:

“The (vendor) treated the baby animals like toys! 

“They are living creatures and shouldn’t be treated like objects! 

“These babies should be with their mothers! 

“They need to sleep, eat and be comfortable at home, not wrapped in cloths and being sold on noisy streets!”

Another netizen added:

“It’s not okay for the puppies to be restricted like this for the whole day! 

“They need to move, eat and use the bathroom!”