要闻资讯

Nationwide complaints about cat “adoption” businesses are exposing the darker side of China’s booming pet industry.

(全国范围内对猫咪 “领养 ”业务的投诉揭露了中国宠物业蓬勃发展的阴暗面。)

It seemed a deal too good to refuse: an adorable white and gray kitten to take home for free, in return for signing a contract to buy a year’s worth of pet products.

(这似乎是一笔无法拒绝的交易：一只可爱的灰白色小猫可以免费带回家，作为回报，你只要签署一份合同，购买一年的宠物用品。)

In need of a companion, university student Xiaomo was instantly drawn to the small British Shorthair and “ended up adopting it on the spot,” she told.

(大学生小莫(匿名)需要一个伴侣，她一眼就被这只小巧的英国短毛猫吸引住了，“最后当场就领养了它”，她说。)

But things quickly turned sour. The kitten, sick when she purchased it, died within a week. That didn’t free Xiaomo from the contract, which still required her to pay nearly 250 yuan ($34) monthly to the shop even if she chose not to take a replacement pet.

(但事情很快就变了味。小猫在她购买时就已经生病，不到一周就死了。这并没有让小莫解除合同，因为即使她不选择更换宠物，仍需每月向商店支付近 250 元（34 美元）的费用。)

“They claimed it was free cat adoption, but in reality, they lured us into making purchases and signing a contract for buying cat food,” Xiaomo wrote in a social media post. 

(“他们声称是免费领养猫咪，但实际上是引诱我们购物并签订购买猫粮的合同，"小莫在社交媒体上写道。)

She is one of many cash-strapped Chinese consumers who feel trapped by a business model which has rapidly spread across China in response to a steep rise in demand for pets.

(随着对宠物需求的急剧增长，这种商业模式在中国迅速蔓延开来，小莫就是被这种商业模式困住的许多手头拮据的中国消费者之一。)

Stores across the country, often in shopping malls and labeled as pet ‘adoption’ companies, offer animals for free, so long as customers agree to future pet food and accessory purchases. They have become the subject of court cases and government warnings, and generated intense online debate.

(全国各地的宠物店通常位于购物中心内，标榜为宠物 “领养 ”公司，只要顾客同意今后购买宠物食品和配件，就可以免费领养动物。这些公司已成为法院诉讼和政府预警的对象，并引发了激烈的网络讨论。)

A hashtag complaining about one such company has garnered over 18 million views on social media platform Weibo. On rival platform Xiaohongshu, or RedNote, a hashtag used by posters seeking help to cancel their contracts after their adopted pets fell ill or died has tens of thousands of views. Users jokingly refer to the contracts as “cat loans.”

(在社交媒体平台微博上，一个投诉此类公司的标签已获得超过 1800 万次浏览。在小红书平台上，被收养宠物生病或死亡后寻求帮助以解除合同的发帖者使用的标签有数以万计的浏览量。用户戏称这些合同为 “猫贷”。)

The rise of the issue to prominence highlights how crucial domestic animals have become to Chinese society: the number of pet cats reached over 70 million in 2024, according to information platform PetData, alongside around 50 million pet dogs.

(这一问题的崛起凸显了家养动物对中国社会的重要性：根据信息平台 PetData 的数据，到 2024 年，中国宠物猫的数量将超过 7000 万只，宠物狗的数量也将达到 5000 万只左右。)

China’s pet industry has grown at an annual rate above 13% over the last decade, reaching a value of 300 billion yuan last year, according to Petdata, fueled by rising affluence, and more people living alone.

(Petdata 的数据显示，在过去十年中，中国宠物产业的年增长率超过 13%，去年宠物产业的产值达到 3000 亿元。)

The disputes over “adoptions” reflect a more serious issue: in an economy increasingly reliant on consumption, new avenues for scams and customer manipulation are emerging. And with China’s government making boosting consumer spending its top economic priority this year, officials are cracking down on shady practices, trying to ensure people feel more confident about spending.

(关于 “领养 ”的争议反映了一个更严重的问题：在一个日益依赖消费的经济体中，新的欺诈和操纵客户的渠道正在出现。随着中国政府将刺激消费作为今年经济工作的重中之重，官员们正在打击不正当行为，使大众对消费更有信心。)

Xiaomo said the “adoption” contract seemed more affordable than the typical price of a cat. But breaking the contract could lower her credit score on the payment app she used to make the purchase, making it harder to access some of the app’s other services, such as bike rentals.

(小莫说，“领养 ”合同看起来比一般的养猫价格更实惠。但毁约可能会降低她用于购物的支付应用信用评分，使她更难使用该应用的其他一些服务，如自行车租赁。)

Xiaomo tried to file complaints through the government’s national consumer hotline, but was advised to negotiate with the business instead. Because the contract placed the responsibility for the pets’ health on consumers, legal action seemed challenging.

(小莫试图通过全国消费者热线进行投诉，但对方建议她与商家协商。由于合同规定由消费者承担宠物健康的责任，因此采取法律措施颇具挑战性。)

Part of the problem is determining which laws the pet “adoption” contracts fall under.

(问题的一部分在于确定宠物 “领养 ”合同属于哪部法律的管辖范围。)

In a 2023 dispute between a pet adoption company and a customer who received a sick animal, a court in the southwestern Sichuan province ruled that the company had a contractual obligation to provide a healthy pet and that a customer’s refusal to purchase pet food after the animal’s death was “in line with common sense.”

(在 2023 年一家宠物领养公司与接收患病动物的客户纠纷中，四川省一家法院裁定，该公司有提供健康宠物的合同义务，客户在动物死亡后拒绝购买宠物食品 “符合常理”。)

The court decided that the customer was only obliged to pay four months of the contract. Neither side appealed the verdict. “Seemingly free pet adoption is prone to problems such as adopting sick pets,” the court added, including “a rise in abandonment behaviors among young people who make impulsive purchases.”

(法院判决客户只需支付四个月的合同款。双方均未对判决提出上诉。法院表示，“看似免费的宠物领养很容易出现问题，比如领养生病的宠物，”包括 “年轻人冲动购买的遗弃行为增多”。)

Wei Wei, a partner of Beijing JAVY Law Firm, said other local courts have ruled such adoption agreements are essentially sales contracts, and businesses are obliged to bear liability for defects. A contract clause that limits a consumer’s choice to the purchase of a potentially overpriced product is potentially illegal, Wei added.

(嘉潍律师事务所合伙人魏巍律师说，目前已有部分法院认定此类领养协议实质为买卖合同，商家有义务承担瑕疵担保责任。魏律师表示，如果认养协议中存在强制购买高价宠物用品等捆绑式消费、宠物生病死亡后仍需继续消费等条款，可能涉嫌违法。)

In the case of sick animals, courts or government departments could impose “remedies such as a refund, replacement, or compensation for losses,” she told Sixth Tone.

(对于生病的宠物，可以通过行政投诉的方式，向有关部门投诉商家提供的商品不合格、存在欺诈，要求退货、赔偿损失等。)

As consumer complaints about “free pet adoption” practices spread, some local authorities have weighed in with public warnings.

(随着消费者对 “免费领养宠物 ”行为的投诉越来越多，一些地方政府也开始公开发出预警。)

In August, the Consumer Protection Council of Chongqing Municipality in southwestern China recommended people only adopt from “reputable” pet stores and request health or vaccination certificates before adoption, carefully review contracts, and keep purchase records.

(8 月，重庆市消费者权益保护委员会建议大家只从 “信誉良好 ”的宠物店领养宠物，并在领养前要求宠物店出具健康证明或疫苗接种证明，仔细审查合同，保存购买记录。)

The Consumer Protection Council in the eastern Anhui province issued a warning in December, advising, “In the face of ‘tricky marketing tactics,’ be sure to keep a sharp eye and don’t be tempted by bargains.”

(安徽省消费者保护委员会在 12 月发布公告，建议 “面对‘刁钻的营销手段’，一定要擦亮眼睛，不要被低价诱惑”。)