A man has shocked many people after uploading a video showing him whipping a rat he caught stealing corn from his farm.
The man whipped the rat repeatedly for stealing corn
A farmer in northwestern China caught a rat stealing corn from his barn and decided to punish it by tying it to a string and whipping it repeatedly,
Dailymail reported.
The animal's front limbs were tied as the man recorded the whole ordeal on camera and posted online today. The scared rodent made a loud squeak as it struggled to dodge the beating and can be seen jumping up and down a few times in the video footage.
The clip is believed to be filmed in a local farm at Yulin, Shaanxi Province. It was posted on a local account on Weibo, a Twitter-like social media, today. The man was giving the animal a lesson as he spoke in 'Shaanbei', a local dialect from the region.
'I have noticed you for a few months and finally caught you! Can't believe you ate all the corn, they belonged to other villagers! And how can I pay them back?' said the man.
It's unclear whether or not the rat survived the ordeal. On Chinese social media, many people believed that although the farmer had reasons to punish the animal, it was not enough to abuse the rat.
'Though it is vermin, it's not necessary to torture the animal like this,' commented 'zigenliao'.
Another user suggested that he should have just killed the animal rather than torturing it.
'This video is just teaching more people about animal abuse,' said 'Krystalzhouzhou'.
Watch video below: