Blocked by censors, China's animal lovers take fight against abuse offline and overseas

From Taiwan to the US, activists are lobbying for China to pass laws against animal cruelty

When videos showing the horrific killing of a stray dog and her puppies sparked outrage on the Chinese internet in June, Beijing's censorship machine kicked into action.

But what was unusual this time was that it pitted the shocked and angry voices against authorities who said they were concerned about the four boys involved, all of them younger than 14.

"We urge the public not to disseminate related information, to reject cyberbullying, and to work together to create a good environment for the growth of minors," reads an official statement.

But the restrictions only seemed to spur the outcry. China's animal lovers have now taken their fight offline and abroad, even putting up billboards in New York to drum up support.

Disturbing footage showing the boys in the city of Jieyang, Guangdong province, hitting three puppies with sticks before setting their mother on fire emerged online at the end of June. The boys were seen laughing as the dog, named Wang Wang, burned.

Jieyang authorities said last month that the boys would not face criminal charges and would instead be sent to a "specialised school", but did not elaborate.

Their identities have not been revealed, but snippets of the video with their faces visible continue to circulate online. There are also unverified posts claiming to be close-ups of the boys' faces, raising the risk of other children being wrongly identified.

Countries around the world restrict information about child offenders or set a high bar for identifying them.

For instance, media coverage and public access to juvenile court documents are often restricted to minimise psychological harm caused by undue publicity.

In this case, Chinese authorities have not completely banned the discussion – keywords such as "Wang Wang" and "animal protection" still come up as trending search terms. Many are still posting about it, and even raising awareness offline.

Still, users have also reported that their posts have been removed, or their ability to share others' posts has been restricted. It is hard to say if the deleted or restricted content had named or identified any of the four boys. Officials have not said anything more on the matter.

Posts by several celebrities, including Chinese actor Du Jiang and Taiwanese actress Joe Chen, who had called for China to strengthen protection for animals also disappeared. But it's unclear if these were taken down by the celebrities themselves.

Chinese users have refused to back down though, with some turni