HANOI, Oct 10 (dpa): The killing of 13 dogs in Vietnam because their owners contracted coronavirus has prompted a large outcry on state and social media.
The owners of the dogs fled the Long An province on Friday (Oct 10) to return to Ca Mau province in a bid to escape the worse of the pandemic.
The couple arrived at a medical checkpoint in Khanh Hung on Saturday and tested positive for Covid-19.
Local healthcare authorities then decided to destroy all the dogs, fearing the animals also had the virus.
"Scientifically, there is no evidence that dogs transmit Covid-19 to humans. Not yet, so, the decision to kill the dogs is unscientific," said Doctor Tuan Nguyen, professor of predictive medicine at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia.
"It is cruel and unethical work."
Images of the dogs on the 300-kilometre journey had already been popular on Vietnamese media as the couple struggled to transport their pets on an old motorbike. - dpa
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