Cyber sadists have figured out a way to profit from cruelty to small creatures, and animal rights activists say it's high time China enacts tough laws to stamp out such abuse.

Several Websites have cropped up recently offering videos and still photos of dogs, cats, rabbits and toads being stomped to death by a sexy woman wearing stockings and high heels.

These images are usually linked with more typical sadomasochistic fare consisting of a female in stiletto heels tramping on the chest of a man.

A Shanghai Daily investigation turned up several such sites, offering "Gts,'' which stands for "great women, small men" and "Crush'' products.

Animal "snuff" videos were posted on these sites for sale at 15 yuan (US$1.87) each. There were bulletin boards for fetish fans, who could even join a group called the International Crushing Association.

At least one of the sites was reportedly registered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.

Several disturbing videos were offered for free. It was impossible to tell where they were made, and while Shanghai Daily could not confirm that animals were actually being killed in the videos, the content appeared to be authentic.

In one, a scantily clad woman with Chinese features posed with a small kitten along a riverbank, at first gently caressing the animal's fur. She then began stomping on the kitten with her high-heeled shoes, crushing its body and head and leaving it in a lifeless, bloody heap.

One Website, www.crushworld.net, was shut down after a Chinese newspaper contacted it to complain, and animal lovers left numerous angry messages on some of the other Crush sites.

At least one of the sellers, however, was unrepentant.

"These movies are not nasty; I don't think they're illegal," a man surnamed Han who markets the videos online told the Shanghai Morning Post.

Han said he offers dozens of different videos and has sold hundreds of discs to people from all over the country since he started the business two years ago.

"All the videos I sell show beauties dressed in sexy clothes crushing a small animal to death," he said. "They are selling very well."

Zhang Haiyin, director of the Shanghai Mental Consultation Center, said the people who buy these products are disturbed individuals who may take pleasure in seeing another living creature suffer because they can't achieve their own life goals.

"These people are most likely those who can't realize their own dreams."

Animal rights activists care little about the motivation behind the videos. They just want the cruelty stopped.

He Yong, a spokesman for the Beijing office of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said these videos point up the need for laws preventing cruelty to animals. China's present legislation is too vague to be much good, critics say.

"Our group hasn't looked into the source of these videos, but for the sake of these animals and for humans as well China needs laws to protect small creatures from harm," He said.

"Those who are heartless enough to harm animals may also be potential threats to the people around them."

Animal rights activists say they've tracked down the high-heeled woman who stomped a kitten to death in an infamous video and the man who produced the shock film in northern China's Heilongjiang Province.

Whether the pair will face any significant punishment is unclear, however. China doesn't have effective regulations prohibiting cruelty to animals.

But while the law may be lacking, the court of public opinion is already doling out a hefty sentence of shame.

Under pressure from local government, the video's producer, who works as a camera operator at a TV station, apologized for his actions and posted a self-criticism on the Internet.

A hospital nurse identified as the kitten-killing actress has disappeared from sight, and her friends and family are worried about what might have happened to her.

Outraged pet lovers began looking for the duo two weeks ago after a series of videos involving attractive women stomping small animals to death were posted on several "Crush" Websites. Some of the videos could be downloaded for free, and others were offered for sale at 15 yuan (US$1.87) each.

With the help of animal lovers from around the country, the volunteer sleuths tracked down the video makers to Luobei County in Hegang City.

"The video was taken on Mingshan Island near our town last summer," a district resident told the Beijing News.

Once the names of the culprits surfaced, Luobei government officials, aided by the police, contacted the employers of the actress and video producer and suggested that they be sent home from their jobs to write self-criticisms.

The producer was identified as Li Yuejun, a cameraman at Luobei Television.

He subsequently wrote an apology that was posted on the district's Website. Li admitted he was involved in the animal-stomping video, though he said he wasn't behind the camera.

He said he was offered the deal online by a Jilin Province resident last summer and then arranged for the actress and sold several video discs.

In Li's confession, he said he was sorry for mistreating the animals and is ready to accept punishment. But there was no suggestion on what that might be.