A growing number of video clips depicting the abuse of pets have been circulating online for a number of years. Every time they are posted, Weibo and other social networking sites are flooded with messages denouncing the perpetrators.

The irony is that the expression of public anger may encourage the culprits or copycats to commit more sick acts, although there is no scientific evidence linking the two as direct cause and effect.

Li Hua, president of Animal Guardians, a non-governmental animal rights group, said the videos can be seen as individual cases of attention seeking, allied to the perpetrators' intention of arousing the observer's secret desire to be a voyeur. However, previous incidents suggest that organized gangs may be behind the abuse.