A chilling video clip circulating on short video platform Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — has unleashed a scandal over stray cats purportedly being captured, forcibly bled, and sold to pet “blood banks” for use in veterinary transfusions.

As reported by Shanghai-based media outlet The Paper, in late October, an account named “Unveiling the Secrets of Guangzhou’s Animal Blood Banks” posted a since-deleted video showing a person drawing blood from a cat.

In the post, the whistleblower also detailed how she had discovered the practice after her own cat allegedly fell ill after purchasing blood from a “partner” animal blood bank at the recommendation of her local veterinary hospital in the southern city of Guangzhou. The cat later died due to an infection. 

In China, veterinary hospitals and clinics rarely provide animal blood, and there is no coordinated system of blood donation for pets.

Veterinary hospital staff refer to cats farmed for their blood as xuemao — “blood cats.” The whistleblower claimed that one cat can provide three to four 10-milliliter bags of blood, each sold at 800 yuan ($112) per bag. 

On Oct. 28, an official from the Guangzhou Forestry and Parks Bureau told domestic media that they were aware of the matter and were investigating.

As news of the incident spread online, attention returned to Guangzhou’s Weitexin Pet Hospital, which was accused of illegally extracting and selling pet blood in 2023, when a former intern-turned-whistleblower claimed that staff were instructed to draw blood from boarded cats and dogs without their owners’ knowledge, and that the blood was later sold.

The local agricultural bureau investigated that a branch of the hospital had previously sold “animal products” worth 14,400 yuan to a biotechnology firm. The clinic was fined 4,320 yuan and is no longer open.

Weitexin did not respond to requests for comment this week from Shanghai-based media outlet The Paper. 

Unofficial “pet mutual aid” agreements among friends and strangers, whereby pet owners agree to donate their pet’s blood to another pet in need, have become a crucial way for owners to meet their pets’ medical blood needs in China.

“Generally, our hospital recommends that pet owners use mutual aid programs or have multiple pets in one household to handle transfusion needs,” Li Duo, head of a veterinary hospital in the eastern city of Hangzhou, told domestic media.

However, when these mutual aid channels fail to meet emergency demand, such as when a pet loses a significant amount of blood or develops a liver or blood disorder, pet owners are forced to turn elsewhere, including online commercial pet blood networks, where they can connect with dealers.

China currently lacks national animal rights legislation. However, existing laws and regulations do address certain forms of animal cruelty under specific circumstances. For instance, under the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, acts of cruelty toward animals committed publicly and in a brutal manner — particularly those that attract onlookers or cause significant public disturbance — may be subject to penalties under this provision. Additionally, cases involving protected species may be subject to criminal charges.

Calls for anti-animal cruelty legislation have grown stronger in recent years, and especially in light of this incident.

In response to public concern, the Guangzhou Animal Veterinary Association issued a proposal on Oct. 28 via its official WeChat account, urging all veterinary institutions in the city to refuse the use of dog and cat blood of unknown origin and to strictly follow the “Technical Specifications for Canine and Feline Whole Blood Transfusions,” an official code of conduct issued by the Chinese Veterinary Association.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: VCG)