Our reporter (Fan Chunxu, Lu Man) - Yesterday afternoon, regarding the incident where a pet dog was "shot", Haikou Meilan Airport issued an official statement on its Weibo account stating that the pet dog had escaped from its cage on its own and was not intentionally released by anyone. In consideration of the safety of numerous passengers' lives and property, airport staff followed relevant regulations and ultimately shot the dog. The airport will continue to investigate the cause of the incident.
Ms. Ni, the dog's owner, stated that Hainan Airlines showed her a video clip lasting just a few seconds, in which there was no footage of the pet dog running onto the taxiway and being shot.
The Airport - Will Study More Humane Handling Measures
On January 2nd, Ms. Ni transported a Teddy dog from Beijing to Haikou via Hainan Airlines. Upon arrival in Haikou, she was informed that the puppy had escaped from the aviation crate and ran towards the runway, leading to emergency measures being taken to kill the dog (reported yesterday in our newspaper).
Yesterday, Haikou Meilan Airport published an official statement about the incident on its Weibo account.
According to the statement, the packaging box for the puppy was made of plastic and was tightly packed. After long-distance transportation, this caused the cage door to deform and loosen. When the cage was placed on the luggage sorting tray, the puppy escaped on its own and was not intentionally released by anyone. Immediately after the pet dog escaped, three on-site staff members attempted to capture it. Subsequently, the airport dispatched seven more staff members to assist in the chase, but they were unsuccessful.
The statement mentioned that at 16:35 on the day of the incident, the pet dog crossed the aircraft taxiway and entered the Meilan Airport connecting road (a quick exit from the runway), approximately 100 meters away from the main runway. Between 16:36 and 16:52, three flights were scheduled to take off or land. If the dog had run onto the runway, it could have been sucked into the aircraft engine, potentially causing damage to the plane or even a catastrophic accident involving loss of life. To ensure the safety of all passengers, the airport staff followed the relevant regulations set by the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the airport operations manual, initiating an animal intrusion emergency response plan, ultimately resulting in the shooting of the puppy.
In conclusion, the airport stated that it would continue to investigate the cause of the incident and seriously study adopting more humane responses and handling methods for similar incidents in the future.
Dog Owner - Incident Video Not Labeled with Time
Ms. Ni said that yesterday afternoon, Hainan Airlines personnel showed her a video clip lasting around ten seconds. The video showed a staff member placing an aviation crate on the conveyor belt, and within a second, the puppy escaped on its own. Subsequently, three staff members chased the dog inside the warehouse.
Ms. Ni noted that the video did not have a timestamp, nor did it show the process of the dog running onto the runway. Hainan Airlines staff told her that “there is no surveillance on the runway,” and that the dog was hit in the head by an imported shotgun with a range of 50 to 100 meters. They also claimed, “only one shot was fired, and we have a record of the bullet.” However, she questioned how the crate was opened and whether the claim of "one shot" was accurate.
Ms. Huang, a staff member from Hainan Airlines Public Relations Center, stated that she would relay Ms. Ni’s questions to the airport authorities.