Supervision needs to have more bark and bite

The delivery company ZTO Express issued an apology on Monday after one of its business outlets in Chengdu, Sichuan province, was found to have been transporting puppies and kittens as part of the controversial "blind box" sales of pets on e-commerce sites.

Volunteers from Chengdu Aizhijia Animal Rescue Center, a local animal welfare group, intercepted about 160 packages containing live animals as they were being loaded onto a truck. Four were found to have died.

In a similar incident in September last year, about 2,000 caged pet animals, including rabbits, guinea pigs, cats and dogs, were found casually dumped at a logistics center in Luohe, Henan province. Many of the animals had died.