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ALEX BELLOTTI: ‘Our social media feeds may be dominated by cat memes and adorable puppy videos, but beneath the surface a more disturbing animal trend is on the rise. A worrying number of influencers have recently been exposed abusing their pets online – often in an intentional, warped quest for “likes”…
The issue was thrust into the spotlight earlier this month when YouTuber Brooke Houts uploaded a video of herself taunting and hitting her Doberman, Sphinx. In the shocking film, the 20-year-old tried to “prank” the dog by making him run through plastic wrap – but “accidentally” included scenes of her smacking, pinning down and appearing to spit on him…
The incident also sparked an urgent appeal from PETA, which called for websites including Facebook and YouTube to impose a “permanent ban on any users who post photos or videos of themselves harming animals”. However, the uncomfortable truth is that Houts is far from the only offender.
Across the Internet, there are thousands of videos racking up millions of hits for “pranks” on pets – much to the horror of animal lovers… In 2018, the RSPCA investigated 130,700 cases of animal cruelty and says the number shared on sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat continues to rise. The briefest of searches on YouTube alone brings up dozens of “copycat” videos that have remained online for years…
Craig Jackson, psychology professor at Birmingham City University, explains the number of people “mentally able” to abuse animals is on the rise and shows “severe warning signs of psychological problems”. He says: “Those who abuse their partners or torture their children often begin by taking their frustrations out on family pets first.
“For the angry, who feel they can no longer take out their frustrations on those who were traditionally “fair targets” (be it racism or sexism) animals may represent the last lifeforms they feel they can pick on. ” I certainly think that many in society are forgetting how to be kind and compassionate, and this is being replaced by the instant reward of notoriety and internet likes for uploading such cruelty’. SOURCE…
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