Mars, a 3-year-old Golden Retriever lost her life due to negligence of China Southern Airline last year.

Chinese boycott China Southern airline after mysterious death of dog

The anger directed at Asia’s largest airline after it agrees to pay compensation “per kilogram” is latest signal of China’s budding animal welfare movement.

On the morning of October 10, a high-profile lawsuit against China Southern, one of China’s “big three” airlines, opened at Chaoyang People’s Court in Beijing. The plaintiffs? Zhao Nan and Chen Lei, a couple from Tianjin, north China, who blame the airline for the death of their golden retriever, Mars. The airline has refused to apologise. 

One night in early August, Zhao took the late-night China Southern flight CZ6993 from Xining city in the far west of China to Beijing. Mars travelled in the hold, in a special dog crate. But at 6.30 the next morning, on arrival in Beijing, Zhao was told that the crate had broken open and Mars was missing.

Thirty-six hours later, the company told Zhao that the dog’s body had been found. Mars was dead, and there were traces of blood around its mouth.

Not only did the airline fail to apologise for the incident, but it also refused to disclose the full facts surrounding the dog’s death. 

After days of failing to get more information from the company, Zhao decided she had been left with no choice but to sue. Soon afterwards, almost 100 animal-welfare groups signed an open letter to China Southern and the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), calling for the industry to end barbaric transportation practices and respect the lives and property of their passengers.

Mars the dog goes missing

“Take care, stay safe”Before boarding her flight on August 5, Zhao posted those words on her microblog, attaching a picture of Mars in the dog crate. Zhao was already nervous. “I’m not doing this again,” she told a friend. “It’s too upsetting.”“Our family spent three happy years together, until this nightmare…” Zhao later wrote on her microblog. She said Mars had been an obedient, clean and pampered dog, and always well-behaved. 

The previous week, Zhao took Mars to Qinghai province in western China. “When she saw the wide golden fields and the blue colours of Qinghai Lake she and July [another dog] ran madly about the grasslands,” Zhao recalled. 

But on August 5, it was time to go home. After the plane landed at Beijing Capital Airport’s second terminal, July’s crate soon appeared at the oversized luggage counter. But one of the straps was missing and the door was open. Fortunately, July was still inside. But there was no sign of Mars’ crate. 

Worried, Zhao went to ask at the China Southern desk, where she was told that the crate had been damaged just before it arrived at the oversized luggage counter, the dog had run off into the airport and hadn’t been found yet.

“I begged them to let me go in and look, but they refused,” said Zhao. “I asked them to go and look for me, but they refused that too and got impatient with me.” With no better option, Zhao had to walk along the edge of the airport security barriers, calling for Mars. She said she understood that a dog loose in the airport potentially posed a danger to the many flights landing and taking off and that the airport staff should shoot Mars if they had to, but begged them to try to keep her alive.

At 9am, Zhao was taken inside the airport perimeter to call for Mars, but two hours later there was still no sign. That was the last time Zhao was allowed in. That evening Zhao and friends made flyers offering a reward and handed them out to China Southern staff, baggage handlers and airport cleaners. 

On the evening of August 6, Zhao posted a missing dog notice on her microblog. Dog lovers quickly passed the message on – it was reposted 1,300 times. 

The following morning, Zhao was informed that Mars had been seen at 3am near an airport gate. But she had fled before anyone could catch her.Shortly after midnight, China Southern staff told Zhao a dog had been found, but that they couldn’t be sure it was Mars. Shortly afterwards, airport staff drove Zhao’s husband to the Terminal 3 offices. There in the sunlight, Mars was lying dead on the back of a truck, with traces of blood around her mouth.  According to a member of China Southern staff, the dog had been alive when they netted her. But then she collapsed, went into spasms, coughed up blood and died within two minutes. She had been found at 9.20am.  “I just want to know two things,” said Zhao. “One, how did the crate break open? If that hadn’t happened, Mars wouldn’t have run off and she would still be alive. Two, why didn’t the airport tell me immediately they had found her, and how did they actually find her?” Thirty-six strange hours

Mars went missing at dawn on August 6, and her owners were told to collect the body at midnight the next day. So what actually happened in those 36 hours? According to the family’s lawyer, Cai Chunhong, China Southern has said there is no way to identify the cause of the problems because there is “no camera coverage of the baggage department” and there was no trace of the dog found on airport cameras. The company also said it could pay compensation, but not apologise or explain the truth of how the dog died. 

On August 11, a microblogger with the name “China Southern Staff” wrote: “I’m a dog lover, but I work for China Southern and so I can’t say who I am as I need to provide for my family. But here I can say, for the sake of my conscience, that the dog was beaten to death by China Southern employees.”

This reporter found a microblog of that name on Sina’s Weibo, but on trying to open it was told there was a problem with the account.  Another microblogger wrote: “A China Southern employee has said that the two crates were taken by baggage truck to the oversized luggage desk. July’s crate was underneath Mars. Just before they arrived, the crate Mars was in fell about a meter and burst open. Mars ran off.” On the evening of August 9, Zhao again went to see China Southern. “They asked me what I wanted. I said I wanted to see all their footage from the moment of landing to when Mars died. But they said there wasn’t any. Mars was within Beijing Airport’s security for over 30 hours, and went missing at T2 and was found at T3 – yet there’s not one bit of footage?” “If they can’t monitor passengers’ luggage or unusual situations, people will worry about the safety of passengers and their property,” said Cai Chunhong.  Zhao has said that any compensation will be donated to animal welfare groups, or used as a legal fighting fund for animal rights, so that other pets and their owners won’t suffer in the same way. According to a member of China Southern staff, the dog had been alive when they netted her. But then she collapsed, went into spasms, coughed up blood and died within two minutes. She had been found at 9.20am. 

“I just want to know two things,” said Zhao. “One, how did the crate break open? If that hadn’t happened, Mars wouldn’t have run off and she would still be alive. Two, why didn’t the airport tell me immediately they had found her, and how did they actually find her?”

Compensation “per kilogram” of dogIn court, China Southern agreed to pay statutory compensation: 100 yuan (US$16) per kilogram for the golden retriever and crate. That was the first official statement on the case from the airline. 　　

Cai, the plaintiff’s lawyer, said that China Southern had failed to fulfil its obligations in the transportation of the dog, resulting in its death. During the 36 hours in which the dog was missing, China Southern and the airport failed to minimise losses, and this neglect and lack of concern for life led directly to the dog’s death, Cai said. 

Zhao is asking for 100,000 yuan (US$15,900) in compensation for the loss of her dog, and around 20,600 yuan (US$3,300) in lost earnings, transportation, food, accommodation and communication costs, 10,000 yuan (US$1,600) in emotional damages, and an acceptable apology for the company’s mistakes. She also wants an explanation, supported by evidence, of how the dog died. The court has not yet handed down its judgement.

In its pleadings, China Southern’s defense team said: “After the fact, the defendant learned that golden retrievers are susceptible to heat. After running around outside, the dog may have been exhausted or even suffered heatstroke. It may have gone into cardiac arrest when it saw people trying to catch it.”

The plaintiff submitted an autopsy report to the court, carried out by Beijing Andong Animal Hospital. The report concluded that Mars “was suffering from breathing difficulties at the time of death, and heart failure may have resulted from terror or other stimuli.” It concluded: “It is likely heart failure was the cause of death. 

This reporter noted that at no point in its defense did China Southern apologize for its behaviour or mistakes. 

From the afternoon the court case opened, China Southern worked frantically to prevent coverage of the case. An editor from China Business News reported receiving “a telephone call asking that the article be deleted.” An article on Beijing Evening Times was quickly removed after it was reposted on major online portals. 

“Why would China Southern, an important state-owned company, ignore and play down a passenger’s fair requests, while trying to shut down public opinion so quickly and forcefully? It’s the low standards of the company,” said one internet user posting under the handle “Animal Protection Dream – Boycott China Southern until they apologise.”

Animal welfare groups lead protestThe death of Mars attracted widespread attention. For days, demands for China Southern to apologise were posted online, along with accusations of negligence. As of the morning of the 11 October, messages from the microblog “Lovely Daughter Mars”, run by the dog’s owners, had been reposted 110,000 times. 

One user with the handle “Watching Flowers in the Mist” wrote: “Would you risk taking an airline that doesn’t know to apologise for its mistakes? Would you risk taking an airline that doesn’t tell the truth? Would you risk taking an airline that doesn’t value life?”

Many users indicated they would boycott China Southern until a sincere apology was made. “Golden Retriever” wrote that “until China Southern apologises for the golden retriever incident, I and my company’s dozens of employees will not be taking China Southern, and those of us with loyalty cards will cancel them. My colleagues and I are encouraging our families and friends to avoid the airline too.”

On September 5, the Capital Animal Welfare Association, the China Animal Welfare Reporters’ Salon, and the China Youth Animal Protection Alliance joined almost 100 other animal welfare groups in writing an open letter to China Southern and the CAAC, saying the incident “showed the urgent need for better standards in airline transportation of live animals, and demonstrated many failings in the industry.” The letter also pointed out that 12 of China’s airlines, including China Southern and Hainan Airlines, are members of the International Air Transport Association, which has specific rules for live animal transportation.The letter also pointed out that 12 of China’s airlines, including China Southern and Hainan Airlines, are members of the International Air Transport Association, which has specific rules for live animal transportation – the Live Animal Regulations. The letter called for China Southern to apologise, reveal the truth, identify the responsible parties, pay compensation, seek understanding from the other parties, learn the lessons of the Mars incident and provide humane and professional services for passengers travelling with animals.

(source: Chinadialogue.net The original article)

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Updates 3/27

Mars’s family filed a law suit against one the biggest airline companies in China.  After a couple of court hearings and a potential reconciliation with the airline at the end of 2012,  the family is not asking for any personal compensation but is instead seeking that China Southern take the following three actions:

1. A formal apology from China Southern Airline;

2. That the truth of what caused Mars’s death be revealed;

3. A $15,900 (100,000 RMB) donation to animal protection and welfare organizations.

The airline refused to comply with any of the family’s pleas.  Their argument is that these pleas are made with a “lack of legal basis”.  As well, the company continues to claim that they had no hand in Mars’ death.

On March 27th 2013, almost 8 months since the incident, Mars’ family had their latest court hearing. According to the latest post on the family’s blog, the airline revealed two very short edited pieces of video from the airport security cameras during the court hearings.　Prior to this court hearing, the airline had denied all requests to reveal any airport security camera footage. Their response was simply that there was “no camera coverage of the baggage department” and that there was no trace of the dog found on airport cameras.”

One of the pieces of footage is only 10 seconds long and shows the airport ground service workers carelessly throwing luggage and crates from the cart to the conveyor belt.  The two crates that contained Mars and July (the other Golden Retriever, Mars’s friend) were viciously thrown on the floor. Both crates crashed to the ground and turned over.  The workers didn’t even bother to put them right side up.

The second video shows both crates already on a cart while a worker pushes the cart. The cart then hits a bump that the worker is only able to make it over by forcefully shoving the cart causing the dogs’ crates to shake and tilt so much that they nearly fell off the cart. Immediately after this episode, a dog (Mars) somehow escapes from his crate after it had been so badly damaged during the unbelievably terrible handling.  Upon escaping, he quickly runs away and disappears from the video.  At this moment, all of the other luggage on the cart, including the other crate with July in it, fell off the cart. The worker did nothing aside from staring aimlessly without attempting to either place July’s crate right-side up or chase after Mars.

After viewing the videos once, the prosecution asked that they be played again to allow further examination.  The defense refused to play the videos and then refused all subsequent requests by the prosecution and Mars’ family to have copies of the videos made.

The defense is claiming that Mars’ death was an accident and that there was no negligence on the part of airline staff while handling the dogs. The defense instead claims Mars’ death is “directly due to genetic faults of the dog breed”. In addition, the defense is also making the case that the manner in which the workers handled the cargo was not hash enough to have caused any damage to the dog crates. The defense is also refusing to pay any compensation to the family for emotional damage because they claim that dogs cannot possibly be so meaningful to humans.

In the end, the defense has offered to pay the a grand total of $735 (4636 RMB) to family split between a $600 (3800 RMB) lost luggage fee calculated from the 38kg total weight of Mars and her crate plus a refund of the extra pet cargo fee $133 (836 RMB) paid for Mars’ transport.  The airline, however, continues to deny any wrong doing on their part and is refusing to make any form of apology. The family refused the terms offered to them by the airline and continues to stand firmly by their three pleas. The prosecution is not expecting a positive result from the court and is now making preparations to begin the appeals process upon the court’s ruling.  Mars’ family says the following on their blog:

This is unacceptable, and we will not compromise. I will start over again, I will gather new evidence, I will continue to fight! I have received some important new evidence recently which I will present it when it’s time. I will never let the people who hurt Mars go! I will do all that I can until justice is served. I will not let my child down. You (the airline) do not understand how much Mars meant to me, so I will show you with my actions. We are just mere ordinary folks, suing such a big and powerful cooperate, and I realize that we may be fighting a battle that it is impossible to win. However, the love I have for my Mars empowers me with a great strength.  I will fear nothing, and I will keep going until the end of the world. We may have a small voice but that will not stop us from speaking out!

The following article is from Mars’ family’s blog:

Mars’s Crate. How frightened and desperate she must have been, that she would choose to run for her life through such a small hole