<p>A craze in China for live pets sold in mystery "blind boxes" has sparked an online backlash after a courier truck full of dying puppies and kittens was discovered earlier this week.</p>.<p>Volunteers in the southwestern city of Chengdu found 160 baby animals packed in crates — some of which were already dead — on Monday night, according to social media posts by Chengdu Aizhijia Animal Rescue Centre.</p>.<p>China's mania for mystery toy "blind boxes" has made fortunes for toymakers, with a market worth of 7.4 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) in 2019, according to market research firm Qianzhan Intelligence.</p>.<p>But social media users decried the latest fad for live cats, dogs and reptiles sold in mystery boxes on e-commerce sites at low prices as a step too far.</p>.<p>"The moment many buyers open the box hoping for a live creature, they actually find an animal that's died of suffocation, starvation, cold or heat," read one post that gained over 41,000 likes.</p>.<p>The user added that she had seen online listings for "very cute purebred cats and dogs" being sold for as cheap as 9.9 RMB ($1.50).</p>.<p>The animal rescue centre said the animals were receiving medical treatment. It wrote in a social media post that the cargo was "full of the screams of puppies and kittens."</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="http://Guide to grooming your pet at home Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-lifestyle/guide-to-grooming-your-pet-at-home-981014.html" target="_blank">Guide to grooming your pet at home</a></strong></p>.<p>If the door is closed then there is no air circulation at all, so they can only be suffocated!" the centre wrote.</p>.<p>Delivering live animals by postal courier is illegal in China.</p>.<p>The courier company has apologised and said the Chengdu branch responsible for the delivery was ordered to conduct a "comprehensive self-inspection" and "postal safety training".</p>.<p>The Weibo hashtag "pet blind boxes" had received over 420 million views by Friday morning, with many users calling for a boycott of the products.</p>.<p>"Pet owners need to be responsible, and people who want to have pets must consider it carefully," wrote another user.</p>.<p>"This is not a 'cute' novelty, nor is it a toy that you can throw away once you're bored. Pet blind boxes make me feel that this society is even more terrifying and crazy."</p>.<p>A search for "pet blind boxes" on the Alibaba-owned e-commerce site Taobao Friday returned listings of live pure-bred pets for sale, but no blind boxes listings offering live animals.</p>
<p>A craze in China for live pets sold in mystery "blind boxes" has sparked an online backlash after a courier truck full of dying puppies and kittens was discovered earlier this week.</p>.<p>Volunteers in the southwestern city of Chengdu found 160 baby animals packed in crates — some of which were already dead — on Monday night, according to social media posts by Chengdu Aizhijia Animal Rescue Centre.</p>.<p>China's mania for mystery toy "blind boxes" has made fortunes for toymakers, with a market worth of 7.4 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) in 2019, according to market research firm Qianzhan Intelligence.</p>.<p>But social media users decried the latest fad for live cats, dogs and reptiles sold in mystery boxes on e-commerce sites at low prices as a step too far.</p>.<p>"The moment many buyers open the box hoping for a live creature, they actually find an animal that's died of suffocation, starvation, cold or heat," read one post that gained over 41,000 likes.</p>.<p>The user added that she had seen online listings for "very cute purebred cats and dogs" being sold for as cheap as 9.9 RMB ($1.50).</p>.<p>The animal rescue centre said the animals were receiving medical treatment. It wrote in a social media post that the cargo was "full of the screams of puppies and kittens."</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="http://Guide to grooming your pet at home Read more at: https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/metrolife-lifestyle/guide-to-grooming-your-pet-at-home-981014.html" target="_blank">Guide to grooming your pet at home</a></strong></p>.<p>If the door is closed then there is no air circulation at all, so they can only be suffocated!" the centre wrote.</p>.<p>Delivering live animals by postal courier is illegal in China.</p>.<p>The courier company has apologised and said the Chengdu branch responsible for the delivery was ordered to conduct a "comprehensive self-inspection" and "postal safety training".</p>.<p>The Weibo hashtag "pet blind boxes" had received over 420 million views by Friday morning, with many users calling for a boycott of the products.</p>.<p>"Pet owners need to be responsible, and people who want to have pets must consider it carefully," wrote another user.</p>.<p>"This is not a 'cute' novelty, nor is it a toy that you can throw away once you're bored. Pet blind boxes make me feel that this society is even more terrifying and crazy."</p>.<p>A search for "pet blind boxes" on the Alibaba-owned e-commerce site Taobao Friday returned listings of live pure-bred pets for sale, but no blind boxes listings offering live animals.</p>