A police officer bludgeoned a Golden Retriever to death after it bit two pedestrians and its owner could not be found.
The policeman, who has not been named, was filmed using a thick wooden pole to slowly beat the dog to death over the course of three hours.
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Passers-by watched on in horror as the incident took place in the street.
The authorities from Changsha, capital of Hunan Province in Central China, said they had not been equipped with tranquilisers.
They added that they did not want to shoot the dog because they feared the ricocheting bullet might injury a pedestrian.
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Footage being shared on social media shows the golden retriever with a lead and collar having already been tied to a bollard, but the officer strikes the animal anyway, causing it to cry loudly.
Officer Peng Yong, who is a colleague of the cop in question, said they were called after two victims named Leng and Zhu reported being attacked by the animal.
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CCTV footage showed the Golden Retriever, whose owner could not be found, appearing to bite Leng, 66, and Zhu, 23 as they walked past it.
Leng suffered a minor injury to his knee, while Zhu’s clothing was slightly damaged.
Animal rights activists have been left outraged by the ‘cruel treatment of the dog’.
Some have even held a candlelight vigil for the animal on the spot where it was beaten to death.
Changsha police said their actions were in accordance with official policy, and the dog was killed to ‘prevent the potential spread of rabies’.
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METRO
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