It all started with a photo of what seemed to be a live rabbit strung up on the back of a car.
The photo was taken in China's Kunming city in its southern Yunnan province and posted on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo social media platform.
"The car was moving along, and the rabbit hanging behind was even bouncing! Imagine that," said the original message, China's Yunnan Xinxibao reported on Tuesday (March 21).
The driver, who has yet to be identified, was criticised not just for obscuring his car plate, but also for animal abuse.
Said one netizen: "We should string the driver up on the back of the car and see how he feels."
Kunming police said in a statement on Tuesday that the driver was breaking the law for not displaying his car plate clearly, and that investigations are ongoing.
This is not the first time animals have been pictured being transported in strange ways on vehicles in China.
In February last year (2016), netizens shot a photo of a chicken and two ducks being strapped to a car on the highway.
The photo shows a hapless chicken taped down to the boot of the car and two ducks hanging out of plastic bags.
Other photos shared on Weibo last year show chickens strung up by their feet dangling out of a car's windows and a pig being transported in a cage on top of a car.