Karachi police said on Friday they had detained a man after a video of a dog being killed by hanging was widely shared on social media.

The video shows a man hanging a dog from a rack with the help of a rope and then raising both his hands, which was followed by a clap. He then goes on to hold two of the dog’s paws, swinging them upward and downward.

Saudabad Station House Officer (SHO) Raja Zulfiqar Haider told Dawn.com that the detained man was the watchman of a market and “appeared to be emotionally disturbed”.

“We are now contemplating what law he is to be charged under,” he said, maintaining that the law was clear about the killing of a pet dog, but the canine seen in the video was a street dog.

The SHO added that the detained man “may have employed the wrong means of killing the dog by hanging him, instead of opting for poisoning or shooting, which is usually practiced in the city to kill dogs in a bid to protect children against dog bites”.

Meanwhile, JFK Animal Rescue And Shelter termed the incident “horrific”, urging people to “raise your voice against this brutality” and “pressurise the authorities to take strict action against” those responsible.