Beijing man imprisoned for poisoning pets in residential compound

Date published: July 13, 2026

The case

A Beijing man has begun serving a four-year prison sentence for placing highly toxic bait in a residential compound. The case became a prominent example of how Chinese law can punish attacks on pets through public-safety offenses in spite of the absence of a general anti-animal-cruelty law.

The poisoning occurred in September 2022 in a residential community in Beijing’s Chaoyang district. A 65-year-old man surnamed Zhang soaked pieces of cooked chicken neck in a solution containing sodium fluoroacetate, a highly toxic substance banned for use as a pesticide in China, and scattered them in public areas of the compound. Eleven pet dogs were poisoned, nine of them died. Later reporting said two stray cats also died. One of the dogs was Papi, a 13-year-old West Highland white terrier whose owner, Li Yihan became a leading advocate for prosecution of the case.

Zhang acted after becoming angry about dogs urinating on and damaging his electric tricycle. Police detained him after surveillance footage and other evidence connected him to the poisoned bait. Prosecutors charged him with placing dangerous substances, an offense directed at conduct that endangers public safety, not with animal cruelty.

The judgment

The case took more than three years to reach judgment. On December 11, 2025, the Chaoyang District People’s Court found Zhang guilty of endangering public safety by dangerous means and sentenced him to four years in prison. The court said disputes over dog ownership and irresponsible pet keeping must be addressed through lawful means and could not justify poisoning or other extreme conduct. Although Zhang stated in court that he intended to appeal, later reports said he did not submit the required appeal documents before the deadline. The criminal judgment therefore became final in late December 2025.

Several dog owners also sought compensation through the criminal proceedings. The courts awarded some compensation for property and related losses but rejected claims for emotional-distress damages. In April 2026, the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court upheld the first-instance civil ruling. In May 2026, Zhang had been taken into custody to serve approximately 800 days remaining on his four-year sentence.

Significance of the case

The case was widely discussed as Beijing’s first criminal prosecution arising from the poisoning of pet dogs. Its legal significance is limited but important. Zhang was punished because he placed a lethal substance in a public residential area and thereby endangered public safety. The judgment did not establish animal cruelty itself as a national criminal offense. Under China’s existing framework, harm to companion animals is usually punishable only when it can also be classified as an offense against public safety, social order, property or another legally protected human interest.

The case therefore produced both a substantial punishment and a reminder of the continuing legal gap. It demonstrated that deliberate pet poisoning can lead to imprisonment when the method threatens the wider public, while doing nothing to resolve the longstanding difficulty of prosecuting animal abuse that does not implicate public safety or another independently protected legal interest.

Sources

Chinese-language sources

– 蔡星卓, 界面新聞 / Jiemian News, “北京首例寵物投毒刑案宣判，‘反虐待動物’下一步能走向哪？” [Beijing’s first criminal pet-poisoning case reaches judgment: What comes next for efforts against animal cruelty?], edited by 劉海川, December 11, 2025.

– 黃曉穎、玄增星, 中國青年報 / China Youth Daily, “‘構成投放危險物質罪，判處有期徒刑4年’，北京首例寵物犬中毒刑事公訴案宣判” [“Guilty of placing dangerous substances and sentenced to four years”: Beijing’s first criminal public-prosecution case involving the poisoning of pet dogs reaches judgment], December 11, 2025.

– 曹雪嬌, 極目新聞 / JiMu News, “‘北京首例寵物中毒刑事公訴案’民事二審維持原判：原告所提交就醫記錄未獲法院採信” [Beijing’s first criminal public-prosecution case involving pet poisoning: Original civil ruling upheld on second appeal; plaintiffs’ medical records not accepted by the court], April 16, 2026.

– 張奕丹, 華西都市報—封面新聞 / West China Metropolis Daily–The Cover, “北京寵物狗被投毒案二審維持原判” [Original ruling upheld on second appeal in Beijing pet-dog poisoning case], April 17, 2026.

– 荔枝新聞 / Litchi News, “寵物中毒案罪犯張某華已被實際收監” [Man surnamed Zhang, convicted in the pet-poisoning case, has been taken into custody to serve his sentence], May 21, 2026.

English-language sources

– Fran Lu, South China Morning Post, “Chinese woman whose pet dog was poisoned, killed by neighbour, sacrifices job for the cause,” April 4, 2026.