A family dog has been forced to eat chilies during a live-stream amid a heartbreaking new social media trend in China.
The disturbing video shows the German shepherd eating a bowl of red chilies with tears running down his face.
This trend became popular after the country cracked down on people performing online eating shows as part of the national campaign to prevent food waste.
Before the Operation Empty Plate campaign was launched, internet users in China enjoyed watching Mukbang videos or ‘eating broadcast,’ an internet craze that sees people eating a lot of food during live-stream.
The country has since banned people from posting such videos but some animal owners started sharing clips of their pets overeating snacks and unusual foods.
In one heartbreaking video, a pet owner forced his dog to eat spicy chicken. The obedient dog can be seen eating the dish with tears rolling down from his eyes.
“He is enjoying it very much,” the owner wrote.
Another live-streamed clip shows two pooches being forced to eat 38 different kinds of snacks as a ‘food challenge.’
For some reason, such videos gained thousands of likes even though the animals do not look ‘happy,’ reports say.
Animal lovers in the country are now urging the authorities to ban the accounts of abusive owners.
One netizen wrote: “Jesus, can’t you see it’s crying? How can you film him eating chillies while watching him cry and in pain?”
Another wrote: “This is just a new way of abusing animals. They don’t deserve to keep pets, what a bunch of cold-blooded bastards! Poor animals, they trust their owners unconditionally yet the owners just use them as cash cows.”
A third added: “These people are so sick! They need to be censored immediately!”
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this story with your friends and family!
Replaced!