Shanghai lawyer accused of long-term cat abuse and selling abuse videos

Summary

In September 2025, HK01, Orange News, Sing Tao Headline, and World Journal reported that a Shanghai lawyer surnamed Yao was accused by animal volunteers of stealing, trapping, or adopting cats since 2017, filming abuse videos, and selling them on overseas platforms. The reports cited volunteers as saying that the archive of videos was large and that the number of cats killed might reach several thousand. The law firm where the lawyer worked later issued a statement saying the employee was unreachable, condemning animal abuse, and terminating his employment.

This archive records “long-term abuse,” “video sales,” and “large numbers of victims” as media-reported allegations by volunteers, not as final judicial findings. Even with that boundary, the cruelty described in public reporting is severe: cats were allegedly taken from streets, adoption channels, or residential areas and turned into material for paid violent videos. Converting living beings into saleable fragments of pain is an attack on animals, rescuers, and the moral floor of society.

Public Allegations and Victims

HK01 reported that animal volunteers accused the lawyer of using several online identities since 2017 to promote and sell cat-abuse videos on overseas platforms. World Journal and Sing Tao Headline cited volunteers as saying there were more than 300 videos and that the number of cats killed might reach 4,000. This site records that figure as a volunteer estimate cited by media, not as an official confirmed number.

The methods described in public reports were extremely cruel, including electric shock, burning, piercing, and abdominal violence. This site does not display the videos or expand operational details. But the reported methods are enough to show that the case was not an ordinary dispute. It was alleged to be sustained, deliberate harm aimed at animal suffering.

Exposure

Orange News reported that late on September 26, 2025, Shanghai residents noticed a man acting suspiciously near a residential compound. After following him, they found him in an underground area using tools to harm a cat and filming the process for online upload. HK01 and Sing Tao Headline reported that the location involved an underground parking area in Jing’an District, Shanghai. The video and volunteer investigation then spread online, drawing attention to the man’s identity and past online traces.

Reports also said volunteers had conflicts with the man and his family while investigating, including claims of injuries and a phone being taken. Because those details mainly come from volunteer accounts cited by media, this archive records them carefully as reported claims. Whatever the later legal result, the reporting shows that people investigating animal-abuse cases can also face real-world risks.

Law Firm Response and Public Handling

Shanghai Hong’an Law Firm issued a statement around September 29, 2025. Media quoted the statement as saying that internet users had reported an employee surnamed Yao for cat abuse, causing serious social impact; that the employee was unreachable; that the firm strongly condemned animal abuse; and that it had terminated his employment under staff management rules.

At the time of the reports, no complete police notice, prosecutorial document, or court judgment had been found in public sources. Media said some abuse videos were circulated on overseas platforms, creating difficulties for investigation and legal application. This archive should continue to track whether police action, administrative punishment, criminal procedure, professional discipline, or legislative discussion emerges later.

Public Impact

Public anger was not only about the suspect’s legal profession. It was about the systematic transformation of animal life into sellable violent content. A professional title cannot offset cruelty; education and legal training cannot become a shield for moral collapse. The public reaction points to a larger question: when animal abuse can be filmed, distributed, sold, and hidden online for years, law and platform governance cannot remain absent.

This archive preserves what public sources support: animal volunteers made long-term abuse and video-sale allegations; several media outlets reported the case; the law firm confirmed that an employee was reported for cat abuse and terminated; judicial findings and victim numbers still require further public confirmation. The cats harmed in those videos should not exist only as brief material for outrage. They should be remembered as individual victims.

Timeline

• Since 2017: Media cited animal volunteers as saying the online identity had posted or sold cat-abuse videos over a long period.
• Late September 26, 2025: Orange News and others reported that residents found a man harming a cat and filming in an underground area in Shanghai.
• September 29, 2025: Several media outlets reported that Shanghai Hong’an Law Firm issued a statement condemning animal abuse and terminating the employee.
• September 30, 2025: HK01, Orange News, Sing Tao Headline, and World Journal reported the case and volunteer allegations.
• Later: Public sources still awaited further information from police, judicial bodies, or professional regulators.

Sources

• HK01, “Shanghai lawyer accused of killing 4,000 cats over eight years and selling videos; law firm says he was dismissed,” September 30, 2025. https://global.hk01.com/%E5%A4%A7%E5%9C%8B%E5%B0%8F%E4%BA%8B/60281385/%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E5%BE%8B%E5%B8%AB%E6%B6%898%E5%B9%B4%E8%99%90%E6%AE%BA4%E5%8D%83%E5%8F%AA%E8%B2%93%E6%8B%8D%E7%89%87%E8%B3%BA%E9%8C%A2%E6%96%B7%E6%AD%A3-%E5%BE%8B%E5%B8%AB%E6%A8%93%E8%AD%B4%E8%B2%AC-%E5%B7%B2%E5%B0%87%E4%BB%96%E8%A7%A3%E9%9B%87
• Orange News, “Shanghai lawyer accused of killing over 4,000 cats over eight years and filming for profit,” September 30, 2025. https://www.orangenews.hk/china/UyGH8t4/%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E4%B8%80%E5%BE%8B%E5%B8%AB%E6%B6%898%E5%B9%B4%E8%99%90%E6%AE%BA%E9%80%BE4000%E9%9A%BB%E8%B2%93%E6%8B%8D%E7%89%87%E7%89%9F%E5%88%A9-%E5%BE%8B%E6%89%80-%E5%9A%B4%E5%8E%B2%E8%AD%B4%E8%B2%AC%E5%B7%B2%E8%A7%A3%E5%83%B1.shtml
• Sing Tao Headline, “Shanghai lawyer accused of abusing 4,000 cats over eight years; law firm condemns and terminates contract,” September 30, 2025. https://www.stheadline.com/zh-hans/realtime-china/3503932/%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E5%BE%8B%E5%B8%88%E6%B6%898%E5%B9%B4%E8%99%90%E6%9D%804000%E7%8C%AB%E6%8B%8D%E7%89%87%E7%89%9F%E5%88%A9-%E5%BE%8B%E5%B8%88%E6%A5%BC%E4%B8%A5%E5%8E%89%E8%B0%B4%E8%B4%A3%E5%B7%B2%E8%A7%A3%E7%BA%A6
• World Journal, “Skinning, electric shock: Shanghai lawyer accused of killing 4,000 cats over eight years and dismissed,” September 30, 2025. https://www.worldjournal.com/wj/story/121474/9039990