More than 20 stray cats were recently found dead in a high-end community in Shanghai, provoking heated public debate in China, the Paper reported on Sunday.

A cat's body is found in a community garden in Pudong New Area, Shanghai on April 13. [Photo: webibo.com]

A woman, going by the name "Lucy Smile," uploaded photos of cats' bodies to microblogging website Sina Weibo on April 13, claiming that the cats were deliberately poisoned to death.

Community residents revealed that disposable bowls containing cat food and white powder were found near the bodies.

So far, more than 1,600 people have shared the post and nearly 2,000 people have commented on it. Some of them criticized the mysterious killer for the cruel act, while others argued that stray cats pose a threat to people's health as they can spread dangerous infections to humans.

To date, there is no stray animal protection law in China, but Shen Ning, a lawyer with Shanghai-based Watson & Band Law Offices, said that the killer could be charged with distribution of harmful material if the poison he or she used was found in large amounts.

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