Restaurant owner steals eight dogs in two hours by killing them with toxic darts to prepare ‘dog hot pot’
- The suspect in China rode a moped and hunted his prey along the way
- He shot toxic darts at the pooches before snatching them, police said
- He resorted to stealing after discovering that dog meat was expensive
- Police have detained the restaurateur after catching him at the scene
A Chinese restaurant owner has been detained after allegedly stealing eight dogs in the space of two hours to make dog hot pot.
The suspect, known by his surname Chen, killed and snatched the pooches by shooting toxic darts at them, according to police.
Police in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province said the culprit resorted to stealing because dog meat was expensive in winter, the peak season for people to eat dog dishes.
Surveillance footage shows a dog struggling in the middle of the road after being poisoned
The suspect stops his moped to pick up the struggling dog in the town of Fenghuang in China
Chen was spotted riding a moped around Fenghuang, a town in Zhangjiagang city, on the morning of December 15.
Local residents called police after seeing the man firing what seemed like poisonous arrows at dogs, reported Jiangsu TV.
Footage released by the station shows the man putting one dog which was struggling on the ground into a sack on his moped.
Chen had ridden his vehicle to the town from nearby Changshu city, where he lives temporarily, according to Zhangjiagang police.
Two officers from Zhangjiagang Police try to catch the suspected thief who is riding a moped
In a social media post, police said the restaurateur had hunted his prey along the way in order to find ingredient for his business.
It is reported that Chen wanted to sell dog hot pot, a winter delicacy in some parts of China, after seeing diners flocking to other restaurants for the dish.
However, he found out that the price for dog meat was ‘quite high’ so he decided to steal dogs.
He bought a bow and a number of poisonous arrows on the internet.
He was caught by police at the scene and detained on suspicion of theft.
A bow and a number of poisonous arrows were found by police in the suspect’s belongings
Police said the restaurateur killed and stole eight dogs (pictured) in the space of two hours
It is estimated that 10 million dogs are slaughtered for meat in China annually, and many of them are stolen pets.
Dog snatchers often drive a van and use a lasso to catch pet or stray dogs.
Toxic darts are sometimes used too. In those cases, the thieves would go back to the location to collect the dogs’ bodies after they are poisoned.
Dog theft is particularly common in southern parts of China, including Guangxi and Guangdong provinces.
Thieves can often escape legal punishment due to lack of law enforcement in the country.