On Monday, 160 distressed cats and dogs, all three months old, were found piled up inside a courier company’s truck in Chengdu, China.

Tragically, a number were also found dead.

This is because of a “blind box” craze in which people buy mystery pet parcels online and have the animals sent to them via post.

The BBC reports that according to Chinese law, the transportation of live animals is prohibited, but regardless, the “blind boxes” are incredibly popular.

Chinese media and many citizens on social media have been horrified by the situation since an animal rescue group, Chengdu Aizhijia Animal Rescue Centre, intercepted the vehicle:

State media Xinhua described pet “blind boxes” as a “desecration of life” and said courier companies and e-commerce platforms must “strengthen self-examination and self-correction”.

It also called on buyers and sellers to have “more goodwill and more respect for life”.

Here are some of the outcries from Chinese social media site Weibo:

“Have we made any achievements in the rescue and management of stray animals? Now there is a pet blind box industry?” one user wrote.

Another wrote: “Let’s talk about boycotting pet blind boxes again. What they need is a home, not an uncertain possibility”.

Other “blind boxes” available for sale on sites such as Taobao have been known to contain a range of different animals, such as tortoises, lizards, and rats.

The rescue group posted a video of the truck piled to the ceiling with boxes “full of screams from cats and puppies” on Weibo.

Watch this Reuters report with caution:

On Thursday, the rescue group managed to bring the animals back to their base for resettlement, and a further 38 were receiving medical treatment.

The courier company, ZTO, apologised to the public and admitted that they had broken China’s postal regulations.

They also suspended the person in charge of delivery safety in Sichuan province and deducted his annual performance bonus.

Additionally, they have also promised to launch additional training regarding postal safety and national animal protection.

[source:bbc]