A netizen posted his chat messages online to disclose the commercial operation behind the bunny-crushing video, again bringing to the forefront the issue which earlier infuriated much of the Chinese public.
The netizen, nicknamed Kongquemingwang, said he was an activist in animal protection and had been in chat groups with fetishists for two years before getting this information.
"The girls involved in the video were college students, hairdressers and even sex workers," he said, as quoted by the Beijing News. They could earn 300 to 400 yuan with each video clip, the netizen said. The video clips were then sold through overseas websites, he added.
In some countries where animal protection laws were strict, video clips featuring mammals being abused were deleted, but those about fish, shrimp and insects were accessible online, he said.
Members of the Crush-fetish organization were alerted and their true identities were still unknown, according to Kongquemingwang.
The bunny-crushing video, released on Nov. 14, showed three young women with short skirts and high heels abusing the rabbits, and laughing and talking as the rabbit died.
In another video clip, a woman dubbed the "rabbit-abusing girl" placed a piece of glass on top of a rabbit and sat on it until small rabbit died in the video.
The video clips have since sparked an outcry for legislation against animal abuse.
Chang Jiwen, a scholar with the Institute of Law under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who was among those responsible for drafting the China Animal Protection Law, China's first legislation on animal welfare, said that behind the cruel act was a loss of morality in society.
"Human beings are animals as well," the law expert told Xinhua. "In a way, how we treat animals reflects our attitude towards mankind, as well."
In Europe and the United States, there were complete animal protection laws with serious punishment for abusers, he said.
Now that animal welfare was stressed even in slaughterhouses, Chang noted that it is time to enact such laws to criminalize abuse, abandonment and inhumane slaughter of animals.
The proposal of the China Animal Protection Law was released on September 18, 2009 and put online for public submission.
The drafting panel has received more than 1,000 submissions, most of which support the legislation.
"Opposing and stopping abusing animals had become common sense for the society," said You Wei, a professor with the East China University of Political Sciences and Law.
Gao Jie has been an activist in animal protection for six years and founded an association of street cat protection in 2007.
"Volunteers sometimes find themselves in trouble without legal basis," she said, "A law could make our work easier. Implementation of such laws could be difficult, but better to have one than none."
Chen Hongguo, a law professor with the Northwest University of Politics and Law, admitted that there were voices opposed to the law. "Some people believe that, nowadays, even the rights of human beings could hardly be guaranteed sometimes, let alone animals," he said.
But Gao Jie noted that rights of human beings and animals were not in conflict. "Those who hurt animals could also hurt human beings," she said. "The degree of civilization of a society was shown in the way people treat animals. I know many volunteers who speak for animals also worked to help people in impoverished regions."
Chen Hongguo noted that the legislation showed people's respect for life. "I hope the video and netizens' outcry could attract more attention from the legislature," he said.
Without the law, Chen suggested the current laws, like the Regulations on Administrative Penalties for Public Security and the Criminal Law, be used to punish the actresses and producers of the video.
The video clips stirred up an online storm as soon as they were put online. Millions of Chinese poured vitriol to condemn the women in the video.
"This is disgusting. I am outraged! These people are sick. I don't understand the fetish. I am sick to my stomach. And smiling whilst doing it!" said a web-user named Upset.
"If anyone knows those people or knows anyone who can bring them to justice, stop them as soon as possible," said a web-user on the popular portal NetEase.
They launched "Human Flesh Search", a research movement using Internet media to identify the "rabbit-abusing girl". Results of the flesh-search showed several names, but none of them have been verified.
Animal rights advocates asked the websites to remove the rabbit-crushing video "on the grounds of morality".
"Allowing people to post videos showing images of animal cruelty provides these individuals with a platform for their cruelty", said David Neale, animal welfare director with the Hong Kong-based Animal Asia Foundation, in his letters to the two websites where the video was first seen on the Internet.
Neale added such videos may encourage people "to carry out more acts of animal abuse and post them online, and encourage disrespect for the lives of animals within society in general".
The video clips were uploaded by a netizen named Liusuifeng on November 21.
"The aim of making the secret videos public is to end the inhumane animal-crushing as soon as possible," said Kongquemingwang.
A woman using the alias as Huang Xiaoxiao posted a letter of apology on the Internet and confessed she was paid to produce the so-called crush-video.
According to her confession, she started by crushing fruit but gradually changed to animals. The producer told her the video would only be exported overseas, but he would put it online if she quits, Huang was quoted as saying in the West China Metropolis Daily.
Huang said she had called police for assistance. However, the apology was rejected by netizens, who believed the letter was just a trick played by the producers to divert public attention.
In 2006, a video showing a woman from northeast China crushing a cat with high-heels triggered a similar online controversy in China.
More than 100 countries have drafted laws against animal abuse. Hong Kong and Taiwan have similar regulations.
